It was billed as the scandal that threatened to shake the core of European democracy.

Explosive allegations, a spectacular police operation and allegations of big money used by three non-EU countries to influence the European Parliament’s decisions.

At the centre of the storm was then-MEP and Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili, young, glamorous, and well-connected.

Three years later, the European Parliament corruption scandal remains unresolved, the trial date has not been set, and the methods used by Belgian authorities have come under scrutiny.

Kaili, who was relieved of her duties as an EU lawmaker and declared persona non grata, says she was set up and is demanding justice.

“Justice is based on evidence and facts,” Kaili said in an exclusive interview for Euronews. “Three years ago, optics were presented as justice, but now we have the clarity to see what actually happened.”

Her case has returned to the media spotlight after former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, top European civil servant Stefano Sannino, and a staff member connected to the College of Europe were detained and named as suspects in a separate alleged corruption case earlier this month, investigated by the European Public Prosecutors’ Office (EPPO) and led by the Belgian police.

Kaili is defending her innocence and accusing Belgian authorities of botched methods, political framing, collusion with the media and the staging of evidence.

Kaili also said she was not surprised by the arrest of three Italian nationals in connection with the Mogherini case, as there is an effort to portray southern European countries as corrupt in public opinion, according to her.

Kaili told Euronews her professional career and personal life have been upended since the scandal broke in 2022. She also says her case is a warning to other politicians.

“When they destroy the principle of presumption of innocence, when they chose a target, stage photos and write the script before the case opens, that means being a politician in Belgium, in the European Union, is not safe,” she told Euronews.

“Politicians should not be afraid to work at European institutions. They should not be afraid to become a target. I hoped that my case would serve as a lesson. But what happened to Mogherini, it’s another case of selective political prosecution.”

Anatomy of a very public scandal

In December 2022, Belgian authorities conducted a series of spectacular raids across several locations, including Kaili’s Brussels home, as part of an investigation led by magistrate Michel Claise.

A photograph of a suitcase, replete with €500 banknotes, was released by the Belgian federal police as what they called evidence of alleged corruption, with Kaili at the centre of it.

The picture went global, and she became the face of the scandal.

She was arrested and her parliamentary immunity waived. Her partner, Francesco Giorgi, and her father, who was found with a suitcase containing cash in a hotel, were also apprehended and accused of being complicit in the alleged corruption scheme, which added up to more than €1.5 million seized in total.

Throughout the investigation, Kaili said she had no personal connection to the money found at her home address, pointing instead to another former MEP, Pier Antonio Panzeri.

Belgian authorities suggested that Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania could have paid Kaili and others large sums to lobby on their behalf. Qatar and Morocco have repeatedly denied the allegations of cash for influence.

The spectacular operation, with no precedent in European history since the EU common institutions were established, put Belgium, its police, secret service and investigative authorities at the centre of an international story, without fear or favour for politicians or foreign governments.

That was in sharp contrast with the picture that emerged after the Paris and Brussels terrorist attacks, in which Belgian authorities came out tainted by operational failures.

At the time, Kaili was a well-known figure in the Brussels bubble, often attending high-profile events and meetings. She has maintained her innocence throughout and refused a plea deal.

Now she is demanding justice for herself.

Troubled and difficult investigation

Since the European Parliament corruption scandal first broke, the investigation has suffered several setbacks, including the resignations of key figures in the case.

Its lead investigative judge, Claise, who first headed the case, resigned in 2023 over concerns of conflict of interest. However, he denied that it played any role in the investigation.

The Belgian federal prosecutor in charge of the case at the time, Raphael Malagnini, also resigned in 2023 to take a different job.

The methods employed by the investigating authorities, which also included the Belgian secret service, have also come into question.

Kaili spent four months in preventive detention before she was released under electronic bracelet monitoring. Her lawyers said at the time that the treatment she received while in prison amounted to torture.

Questions around the way Kaili’s immunity as an elected member of the European Parliament was lifted, which her lawyers argue was done illegally, the nature and timing of sensitive leaks published in the press and counter-probes have impacted the case, which is still not set for trial.

While information “leaking” to the media during an active probe is not rare and reflects the investigative nature of journalism, the details, timing and access to documents deemed highly sensitive went beyond just leaks, according to Kaili.

She told Euronews that Belgian authorities worked closely with a group of journalists to “write and present a script” in which she would be found guilty before she could defend herself.

“We have messages between the prosecutor, the police and journalists preparing articles before the investigation even started, deciding how they would title it and trying to twist everything to fit a headline,” she said. “These are not leaks, this is pre-orchestration.”

At the time, the Greek centre-left politician was portrayed as an ambitious woman seeking to climb the social ladder, enjoying the perks of an expensive lifestyle beyond her duties as a politician.

“I was actually very hard working,” she pointed out.

Kaili insists that she had a mandate from the European Parliament to establish relations with the Gulf countries, citing internal emails.

Asked by Euronews what the motivation could ultimately be if her allegations — which would point to serious negligence — are proven correct before the law, she replied: “That’s a very good question, but it would require a trial.”

Belgian fixation with southern Europe?

The former MEP told Euronews she decided to speak up now because of what she calls a worrying pattern related to southern European nationals working for EU institutions.

Earlier this month, one of Italy’s top diplomats, Mogherini, stepped down from her role as rector of the College of Europe, an influential educational institution close to the EU, over public allegations of graft, again implicating a high-level official from the south of the continent.

Lawyers representing Mogherini said she was ready and willing to collaborate in the investigation, which remains ongoing.

“I think it’s easy to attack the southern European countries and create a narrative and an assumption. But the assumption of the opposite of facts and it destroys lives,” she said.

“And the reason why I’m speaking out, even though it has caused to much trouble to my family, and even to my case, is because this should not happen to anyone,” Kaili concluded.

The Belgian prosecutor’s office did not respond to a request for comment by Euronews.

Watch the entire interview in the player above.

Corporate boardrooms are trying to wrap their heads around how to leverage mobile-focused video game behemoth Roblox for their own gain, similar to how they were once forced to adapt to the rise of YouTube.

Like YouTube, Roblox diverges from the entertainment status quo. Both are driven by a sprawling network of content creators, many of whom begin as independent developers with little technical knowledge, and their audiences skew young. YouTube gives people tools to publish videos and an app in which users can watch them; Roblox gives people tools to build video games and an app in which users can play them.

Because of how Roblox games originate, they do not look as polished as those from big-budget studios on Xbox or PlayStation consoles. The graphics are rudimentary, and the games are most often played via mobile devices. Yet Roblox’s offerings, which are mostly free to play but often sell in-game cosmetic items and power-ups, can still be wildly popular, amassing more than 100 million daily active players. As Sportico has reported, mobile gaming is significantly larger than console usage globally.

Roblox’s grittier feel—akin to the appeal of an at-home YouTube vlog—is an asset. That said, it’s a trait that poses a challenge for brands, which feel a need to get involved but must do so in a way that comes off as organic within the raw aesthetics of the platform.

Enter the middlemen. Companies such as Gamefam connect native Roblox games and their creators with brands, reminiscent of the multi-channel networks (MCNs) that proliferated YouTube in the early 2010s and signed video makers to content partnerships.

The middlemen assume development and commercial responsibilities upon gaining a game’s rights. They implement corporate markings while ensuring a title still resonates with users.

On Friday, Gamefam announced the release of FIFA Super Soccer—a rebrand of a popular game it already owned, Super League Soccer. FIFA Super Soccer is one of many Roblox titles Gamefam has acquired from independent creators. As part of its adaptation, it added licensed properties related to FIFA, teams and some of FIFA’s brand partners, such as Adidas.

In this case, Gamefam has maintained a working relationship with the game maker, Mats Watte, whose original creation did not feature any intellectual property from soccer organizations. Gamefam did not disclose the financial terms of its licensing pact with FIFA that led to the rebranding.

“I was just in a meeting earlier today, and we were talking about, well, this is kind of like a [multi-channel network],” Ricardo Briceno, chief business officer of Gamefam, told Sportico in a video interview ahead of the FIFA Super Soccer announcement. “But it’s also a dirty word these days. So we’re not quite an MCN because it’s not just aggregating, because we also are operating and, like developing and doing things. But I don’t think it’s a bad example. It’s a good connection there.”

Many of YouTube’s multi-channel networks, perhaps most infamously Machinima, ultimately developed negative reputations. Independent creators came to resent the deals they signed, which they considered predatory because of lopsided revenue-sharing terms and long-term restrictions that barred them from working elsewhere.

There are some differences between MCNs and third-party Roblox development companies. For starters, the game, not the creator, is the main product on Roblox. Rather than set a perpetual quota for influencer content production, as was often the case with YouTube MCNs that would burn out video makers, Roblox’s middlemen generally obtain a game that already exists and then handle further development themselves.

Watte, the person who created the game that has morphed into FIFA Super Soccer, is a college student at King’s College London, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has developed games since he was a kid. Watte has spoken positively in public posts about his experiences with Gamefam. When Gamefam helped FIFA integrate Club World Cup branding into what was then called Super League Soccer for a prior agreement, Watte wrote, “Thank you to Gamefam and FIFA for trusting us with this opportunity, and to everyone on my team for making this happen in such a short span of time.”

A spokesperson representing Gamefam declined to specify whether Watte received an upfront payment for FIFA Super Soccer, whether he gets a cut of future revenue related to the title, or whether his role as “Creative Director for FIFA Super Soccer” means he is a full-time, salaried employee.

“We partnered with the game creator to put the backing of a professional studio behind Super League Soccer,” the spokesperson wrote. “In partnership with the original game creator, Gamefam now runs the game in full and provides our live operations capabilities and brand activation expertise. The numbers continue to get better and better as we work together.”

FIFA has a rich history in video games for consoles made by major studios, and until 2022, it maintained a long-term partnership with Electronic Arts. Its breakup with EA removed FIFA from the title of EA’s hit soccer video game franchise. Afterward, FIFA president Gianni Infantino declared that “when [children play] a football simulation game, they play FIFA, it cannot be named something else.” Ahead of the men’s FIFA World Cup next summer, Infantino has been hellbent on besting EA.

FIFA worked with the studio Mythical Games on a separate, non-Roblox project that led to the release of FIFA Rivals in the Apple and Android app stores. It also has a licensing and esports deal with Konami’s eFootball, which is playable on mobile and console.

None of those endeavors, or the new FIFA Super Soccer title sponsorship, carry the same reach of EA Sports’ renamed soccer franchise EA Sports FC. Still, when taken together, they are formidable.

Overall, Roblox has a $60 billion market cap and 111.8 million average daily active users, according to a Sept. 4 financial report. Before it rebranded from Super League Soccer last week, FIFA Super Soccer averaged 1.5 million daily gameplay sessions with a duration of 11 minutes, per Gamefam, though this metric included when the same people opened the game more than once in a 24-hour period.

In the immediate wake of Friday’s name change, FIFA Super Soccer rose into the top 70 for concurrent Roblox users at 21,000, according to a spokesperson. Gamefam works with other sports organizations, including the NFL, on titles that have also made this leaderboard.

As Briceno discusses Roblox integrations with clients who ask how Gamefam’s services can lead to real-world revenue returns, he’s reminded of his own marketing work at previous career stops.

Early in a 12-year tenure at Mattel Inc., Briceno was on the other side, only YouTube was the multimedia puzzle his company was trying to solve.

“We were thinking, we’ve got to get hot,” Briceno said. “Does it drive sales? We know that TV commercials drive sales, but what are we going to do with YouTube, I don’t know if we can measure and blah, blah, blah, and all these things were happening. We said we got to invest in this, this is where the kids are. It just makes logical sense.

“It takes a while until you’re able to generate the data points and the proof points and figure out how to do it in the right way that actually drives scale or sales. … Now we are going through that process on Roblox, and we’ve seen a lot of those early data points, so it just validates what you would think is common sense.”

A Russian general was killed in a car bombing in Moscow on Monday, with investigators saying they suspect Ukrainian intelligence may have been behind the attack.

The bombing targeted Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, and he died from his injuries. He was the third senior Russian military officer to be killed in a bombing this year.

“Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry regarding the murder. One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services,” said Svetlana Petrenko, the spokesperson for Russia’s Investigative Committee.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin had been immediately informed about Sarvarov’s killing.

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Sarvarov had previously fought in Chechnya and taken part in Moscow’s military campaign in Syria, according to Russia’s defense ministry.

Ukrainian forces have yet to take responsibility for the attack.

Prior to Sarvarov, Russia lost the head of its nuclear, biological and chemical protection force, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, in a similar bombing earlier this year. Ukrainian forces took responsibility for that attack.

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Russian military officer Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik was also killed by a car bombing in Moscow in April.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in the aftermath of that attack that he had received reports about the successful “liquidation” of Russian military leaders, though he did not mention Moskalik directly.

The Monday bombing comes as Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. remain in peace talks. Russian officials said they were proceeding “constructively” on Sunday, even as missiles rained down on Ukraine’s port city of Odesa.

Putin also noted on Friday that the nation’s “troops are advancing,” and expressed confidence that Russia would achieve its goals by military force if Ukraine does not accept its peace terms.

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“The goals of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved. We would prefer to accomplish this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomatic means,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.