ND suspends MEP’s party membership amid fraud investigation

Ruling New Democracy Friday suspended the party membership of MEP Maria Spyraki amid an ongoing fraud investigation.

Spyraki will not be able to run in next year’s nationwide elections until her status has been restored.

The European Union’s Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi Thursday requested the lifting of immunity of Spyraki and Eva Kaili, a socialist MEP currently detained under suspicion of corruption and money laundering, over suspicion of committing fraud.

“Based on an investigative report received from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), there is a suspicion of fraud detrimental to the EU budget, in relation to the management of the parliamentary allowance, and in particular concerning the remuneration of Accredited Parliamentary Assistants,” her office said in a statement.

The investigation against Spyraki is not related to the Qatar scandal.

In a statement to Greek media Thursday, Spyraki said she was “happy to accept” the request for her immunity to be lifted “in order to make clear that I don’t have a single euro difference with the European Parliament.”

Reacting to the news during a visit to Brussels late Thursday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the case as “very serious.”