Qatar rejects accusations of links to European Parliament 'corruption'

European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili, a suspect in an investigation into alleged money laundering and corruption at the parliament, has denied receiving money from Qatar, one of her lawyers said in Greece on Tuesday.

Kaili, one of 14 vice presidents of the parliament, was among four people arrested and charged in Belgium at the weekend over allegations that foreign lobbyists used cash and gifts to influence decision-making.

"Her position is that she is innocent, I can tell you that," Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, a lawyer representing Kaili in Greece, told Open TV.

"She has nothing to do with financing from Qatar, nothing - explicitly and unequivocally. That is her position," Dimitrakopoulos said. He added that Kaili had "undertaken no commercial activity in her life".

The Qatari foreign ministry has also responded to the allegations, denying any involvement. 

"Qatar categorically rejects these spurious accusations circulating in Western media," said a statement on Sunday in reference to the allegations. 

The "unfounded" allegation have "no basis in reality" according to the foreign ministry, who reaffirmed that Qatar and its diplomats "operate in full compliance with international law and the rules governing international relations", "dealing diplomatically through institutional relations".

Greece on Monday froze Kaili's assets in the country. The European Parliament has suspended her from her duties.

As the 44-year-old former TV news presenter waited in a Brussels jail cell, her colleagues in the Strasbourg parliament were to vote to strip her of her vice president's role.

The parliament's president, Maltese conservative Roberta Metsola, convened the leaders of political groups before calling on MEPs to vote "on the early termination of office of Vice President Eva Kaili".

Kaili's fellow MEPs are scrambling to distance themselves from her.

On Wednesday a Belgian judge will decide whether to maintain her and three co-accused in custody pending her trial.

She was arrested last week during a series of raids on the homes and offices of several MEPs and their assistants or associates carried out by Belgian graft investigators. 

Includes reporting by Reuters