Police investigate possible corruption in European Parliament over Huawei lobbying
Around 100 federal police officers carried out 21 searches on Thursday as part of a federal prosecutor's investigation into corruption in the European Parliament. The case allegedly concerns corruption practices linked to lobbying by the Chinese telecoms company Huawei.
The news was first reported by Le Soir, Knack, Follow The Money and Reporters United and later confirmed by the federal prosecutor's office. The searches took place in the Brussels-Capital region, Flanders and Wallonia, but also in Portugal.
"Several natural persons were detained for questioning in connection with their alleged participation in acts of active corruption within the European Parliament, as well as forgery and the use of false documents," the federal prosecutor's office said. "The acts were allegedly committed within the framework of a criminal organisation."
According to the prosecutor's office, the corruption allegedly took place regularly from 2021 to the present under the guise of commercial lobbying. It includes fees for taking political positions or excessive gifts, such as restaurant and travel expenses or regular invitations to football matches.
"All of this was done with the aim of promoting purely private commercial interests in the context of political decisions," the prosecutor's office said.
Huawei lobbyists arrested
According to investigative journalists, several lobbyists working for Huawei were arrested. They claim that the main target of the judicial investigation is the Belgian-Italian Valerio Ottati. He serves as director for Public Affairs at Huawei Technologies' representation office to the EU since 2019.
The lobbyists allegedly intended to contradict allegations of espionage by Huawei, to advocate opening the European market to Chinese investments, and to counter US lobbyists - who wanted to exclude the Chinese company from sensitive contracts.
One or more MEPs allegedly received deposits via a company in Portugal, which is why searches took place there too, the media writes. No homes of MEPs were searched, but the federal public prosecutor's office could request the lifting of their parliamentary immunity at a later stage. Around 15 elected MEPs are said to be involved in the case.
This is not the first time MEPs have been the focus of an anti-corruption investigation. In December 2022, federal prosecutors opened the Qatargate investigation into MEPs allegedly taking bribes from the governments of Qatar and Morocco to influence EU affairs.
PHOTO © Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire
Related news
