Kaili Sisters Running Business And Politics - Scandal Details Revealed

BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 22. The scandal with the detention in Brussels on the corruption case of the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, is gaining momentum, as her sister, Mantalena Kaili, was also found to be engaged in similar activities, trend reports, citing an article in POLITICO newspaper.

According to the author of the article, when the ousted Vice-President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, was arrested in a case involving Qatar and Morocco on December 9, the first person to speak out in passionate defense was her sister.

'As Eva Kaili, who is due to appear in court in Brussels on Thursday, was building a career in the Parliament, Mantalena Kaili established a multipurpose organization - Made Group - whose focus often overlapped with her sister's career. As Eva Kaili marched ever upwards in politics, the Made Group loomed large in the wings,' the article said.

When Kaili turned her attention in the European Parliament to topics such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, Mantalena Kaili's Made Group created a 'non-profit initiative' called ELONtech, which also focused on these areas.

ELONtech was a useful ally in such matters, with both Kylie sisters fully involved - as were Eva Kaili's parliamentary staff. Mantalena Kaili served as managing director of ELON tech, while Eva Kaili was an advisor.

The author noted that the activities of ELONtech are vaguely defined. It undertakes activities and positioning itself as an 'observatory' and 'platform' for legal and technological issues. According to the LobbyFacts.eu Transparency Platform, it was listed in the EU Registry of Lobbying Organizations as of 2020, focusing mainly on blockchain technology, and it has since disappeared from the registry.

ELONtech's website eventually disappeared, however, before that, certain names of the employees had been removed from there.

When asked why the names of employees and consultants were removed from the ELONtech website, Mantalena Kaili said that this was done to preserve the «discretion» of the organization's consultants and volunteers. When asked why she had also deleted her name, she replied that it was 'no secret' that she was managing ELONtech.

'When Eva Kaili was arrested as part of a Belgian investigation into corruption, money laundering and criminal organization, Mantalena Kaili - whose assets have been frozen - said she couldn't believe the accusations, given her sister's 'morals and personality'.

In an interview with the Greek newspaper, Mantalena Kaili stated that she was ready for questioning in Brussels.

Over the past five years, the two sister have often been seen together at technology events and participated in each other's projects. Industry Commons' lobbying group, whose governing board includes Mantalena Kaili, described her as 'the chief policy advisor and close employee in her sister's office, the Greek MP Eva Kaili,' although this is not confirmed by Eva Kaili's parliamentary profile page. The description was removed from the Industry Commons website last week.

Mantalena Kaili told POLITICO that she worked for Eva Kaili as an 'assistant in Athens' and was registered in Greece under a special contract, which she said was 'authorized for MEPs'. Mantalena Kaili added that she did not know why her name was not - and never was - on Eva Kylie's list. List of advisers on the European Parliament website.

Eva Kaili was first elected to the European Parliament in 2014, sitting in a group of socialists and democrats, and quickly became known as an influential legislator on digital files. It joined the European Parliament's Industrial Committee (ITRE) in July 2014 and will continue to help evaluate the EU's R&D funding program Horizon 2020 for 80 billion euros.

In October same year, she became the first vice-president of the European Parliament's panel for the future of science and technology (STOA), taking over the chairmanship in 2017 - she was the first woman to hold that position until March 2022.

At the same time, returning to Greece, Mantalena Kaili, a lawyer, was preparing for her own businesses. In August 2017, it launched the Made Group, a Athens-based 'non-profit platform for communication strategy, social innovation projects and creative synergy'. As of 2021, Mantalena Kaili was listed as the sole administrator of the company and co-founder with Matina Kanaki, according to documents filed with the Athens Chamber of Commerce. Kaneki also served as Eva Kaili's assistant in February 2020.

In November 2022, Kanaki became the manager of Estate Aria Properties, a real estate company established by Eva Kaili and her partner Francesco Giorgi. Giorgi, originally from Italy, works as an assistant to another MEP, Italian Andrea Cozzolino. George was also detained as part of an ongoing investigation into obtaining money for influence.

'Speaking to POLITICO, Mantalena Kaili disputed the extent of the overlap between Made Group and the work her sister conducted in Brussels.

'We had activities that weren't explicitly following Eva's agenda,' she said. A press release from her said that Made Group 'has participated in various projects, programs, studies and events in cooperation, on a case by case basis with a broad team of not permanent associates and volunteers'. The press release also underlined how ELONtech 'is not a legal person (not a company) and it definitely it is not an NGΟ and it has not received a single euro in financing'. No one else named in the article responded to requests for comment by the time of publication,' the author concluded.

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