The European Parliament has sanctioned a Latvian MEP for spying for Russia

The European Parliament has sanctioned Latvian MEP Tatiana Zhdanoka, who was accused in the media this year of spying for Russia, Politico reported.
In January, Russian investigative newspaper The Insider reported that Zhdanoka had worked for years on behalf of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the Soviet-era KGB. Zhdanoka rejected the accusations, telling MEPs in February that he was just a "peace agent". Latvian secret services opened a criminal case against her, local media reported in March. Parliament launched its own administrative investigation into the MEP, and its chairwoman Roberta Mezzola announced a series of sanctions against Zhdanoka after accusing her of breaching the code of conduct for MEPs.
Zhdanoka, who has been an MEP since 2004 and is a member of the Greens/ESA group until 2022, broke parts of the code related to declaring private interests and receiving gifts, Mezzola said, without elaborating.
The sanctions will consist of a five-day fine from her daily allowances amounting to €1,750, and she will also be banned from certain roles representing the European Parliament until the end of this term in July, after which she is no longer expected to be an MEP.
Parliament was also rocked by another Russian-influenced scandal involving a Czech media outlet called the Voice of Europe. According to Czech intelligence, the media outlet paid European politicians, including MEPs, as part of a plan to spread Russian propaganda. /BGNES