Eva Kaili, the Greek MEP embroiled in a corruption scandal allegedly linked to World Cup host Qatar, "did not know of the existence" of the cash found at her home, her lawyer has said.
The MEP, who was sacked by the European Parliament as vice president, has "no relation to the money found at her home", said lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos after she was arrested following a series of police raids in and near Brussels.
Earlier, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to remove Ms Kaili from her role as a Vice President of the Parliament.
Today's vote followed a proposal from the Conference of Presidents, comprising senior members of the parliament, to remove Ms Kaili from her role.
The vote in parliament saw 625 MEPs support her removal, with two abstentions and one voting against.
All Irish MEPs present voted in favour of the removal of Ms Kaili as Vice President. Sinn Féin MEP Chris McManus was not present for the vote.
Ms Kaili was one of four people arrested as part of an investigation into corruption.
She has already been relieved of all her tasks and responsibilities.
Yesterday during an address to MEPs, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said that she must choose her words carefully in order not to jeopardise any investigation.
However, she went on to say that she believes that the European Parliament is under attack, with "malign actors" seeking to "subdue its processes".
She vowed to initiate an internal investigation in order to establish all facts and also to "shake up" the institution.
It followed allegations that Qatar had paid money and gave gifts to people, including a senior MEP, in order to influence decision making.
Ms Kaili was arrested in Belgium over the weekend in connection with a police investigation into corruption.
Searches were carried out at the homes of MEPs and their associates in Belgium and around a million euros in cash has been recovered after the accusations that Qatar has been seeking to burnish its image.
Belgian prosecutors said €600,000 were found at the home of one suspect, €150,000 at the flat of an MEP and several hundred thousand euros in a suitcase in a hotel room.
Ms Kaili is remanded in custody and will face a hearing tomorrow to see if she and three fellow accused will need to remain in detention pending a corruption trial.
The scandal has erupted during the 2022 football World Cup, an event Qatar had hoped would boost its reputation but which has been dogged by allegations of mistreatment of the migrant workers who built the host's new stadiums.
Ms Kaili visited Qatar just ahead of the World Cup and praised the country as a "frontrunner in labour rights", a sentiment she has repeated on the floor of the parliament.
She received a new legal blowyesterday, when Greek authorities froze the former television presenter's assets and her relatives' assets.
The Gulf monarchy denies any involvement.
"Any claims of misconduct by the state of Qatar are gravely misinformed," a Qatar official said.
Calls for overhaul of ethics system
Meanwhile, EU Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly has called for an urgent overhaul of the EU's ethics system in the wake of the corruption investigation.
Ms O'Reilly said the reaction by the parliament and other institutions to the scandal is "entirely predictable".
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, "there's nothing like a scandal to have everybody promising to be good in future and to put in place all sorts of things in order to make things better".
She said an independent ethics body was first proposed by Commissioner Ursula Von der Leyen when she was campaigning to become president in 2019 "and very little has happened".
Irish man appointed as new international special envoy
Elsewhere, the European Commission created a new role of International Special Envoy for the Implementation of EU Sanctions "to ensure continuous, high-level discussions with third countries to avoid the evasion or even the circumvention of the unprecedented restrictive measures that have been imposed on Russia since the start of its war against Ukraine".
David O'Sullivan, a former Secretary-General of the Commission and senior EU diplomat, has been appointed as EU Sanctions Envoy and will formally take up this role in the second half of January.
David O'Sullivan has had a long career in the European Public Service, spanning over three decades and culminating in five years as Ambassador of the European Union to the United States.
Prior to this he was notably the Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service, responsible for establishing the new EU diplomatic service (2010-2015); Director General for Trade (2005-2010) where he was Chief Negotiator for the Doha Development Round and responsible for overseeing the launch of a number of free trade agreements and concluding the EU's agreement with South Korea; Secretary General of the European Commission (2000-2005); Head of Cabinet of Commission President Romano Prodi (1999-2000) and Director-General for Education and Culture.
With additional reporting by AFP
