Former Greek EU Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos is wanted under a European arrest warrant. The decision was taken by the Belgian authorities in connection with the Qatargate scandal. Politico reported on the matter, citing two senior Greek officials involved in the judicial proceedings.
As Politico recalls, the Qatargate scandal broke in December 2022, after Avramopoulos had left the European Commission, when Belgian police carried out a series of raids on properties and offices in Brussels, arrested the main suspects, and seized bags of cash as part of one of the largest corruption investigations to hit the EU. The main allegations concern suspects linked to the European Parliament who accepted money or gifts in exchange for advancing Qatar’s interests.
“The former commissioner is accused of participation in a criminal organisation, and the authorities link the case to income he received from the NGO at the centre of the scandal,”
one of the officials quoted said.
The second official said Belgian authorities had summoned the former commissioner to testify almost a year ago, but he has so far failed to appear. Since Avramopoulos is currently a member of the Greek parliament, the arrest warrant could only be executed if the chamber voted to lift his immunity.
Qatargate
As part of the Qatargate investigation, former Member of the European Parliament Pier Antonio Panzeri, former MEP Eva Kaili, and her husband Francesco Giorgi were arrested. They were charged with corruption, money laundering, and participation in a criminal organisation, and were later released from custody pending trial. However, little progress has been made in the case over the past few years.
Avramopoulos, who served as Commissioner for Migration from 2014 to 2019, was an honorary board member of the NGO Fight Impunity, founded by Panzeri. He resigned from the organisation shortly after the scandal broke. At the time, he insisted that he had held no executive or managerial duties there, but acknowledged that he had received €73,000 in remuneration from the organisation between February 2021 and February 2022.
Last year, Belgian authorities summoned the former commissioner to testify, but he took no action in the matter.
In a statement issued on Monday, he insisted that “the case never had anything to do with him” and announced that although the allegations against him are “completely unfounded,” he would not hide behind parliamentary immunity.