Greek parliament lifts immunity of ex-Commissioner amid 'Qatargate' probe

ATHENS, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Greece’s parliament lifted the immunity of one of the country’s former European Commissioners on Thursday, clearing the way for further action by authorities investigating the “Qatargate” corruption case, one of the biggest scandals to hit the EU.

Dimitris Avramopoulos — a former Athens mayor and current lawmaker with the ruling conservative New Democracy party — has denied any wrongdoing or links to the case, under which several EU officials have been accused of accepting bribes from Qatar.

Qatar has also repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

A Belgian investigating judge issued a European arrest warrant for Avramopoulos in June linked to the case, on accusations of participation in a criminal group, public corruption and money laundering, according to a government document seen by Reuters.

Until Thursday’s vote, the 73-year-old had been shielded from arrest and prosecution by the parliamentary immunity granted to lawmakers.

On Thursday, Greek media quoted Avramopoulos as saying that he planned to appear voluntarily before Belgian authorities.

The Belgian prosecutor’s office did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.

Belgian authorities say they have seized about €1.5 million ($1.72 million) in cash during raids linked to the whole Qatargate case, which emerged in 2022. Some money was found stuffed into a large suitcase in a Brussels hotel.

Investigators have alleged Qatar paid out cash or made payments via a non-profit organisations to influence European Union policymaking — accusations denied by Doha.

Avramopoulos served as the European Commissioner for Migration in 2014 t 2019. From 2020 to 2021, he started working as an honorary board member for Fight Impunity, an NGO linked to the case, the Greek government document said.

In June, when the warrant was issued, Avramopoulos said in a statement that his past involvement with Fight Impunity was “lawful, audited, approved” and any association of his name with the case by Belgian authorities is “arbitrary, unacceptable, suspicious”.

($1 = 0.8718 euros)

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Yannis Souliotis; Additional reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Andrew Heavens)