‘Huawei lobbyists’ held in raids in Belgium over EU corruption
Belgian police have raided several locations in the country as part of an investigation into corruption within the European Parliament.
Prosecutors said the alleged corruption was “under the guise of commercial lobbying”, and that several people had been detained for questioning.
According to officials, an address in Portugal was also searched by local police, while in France, one person was arrested.
Belgian newspaper Le Soir said the investigation was linked to Chinese tech giant Huawei and its activities in Brussels since 2021. Huawei said it was taking the allegations “seriously” and would “urgently communicate with the investigation”.
The Belgian prosecutor’s office said: “Corruption was allegedly practised regularly and very discreetly from 2021 to the present day, under the guise of commercial lobbying and taking various forms, such as compensation for political positions or excessive gifts such as food and travel expenses, or regular invitations to football matches.”
In a statement to the BBC, a spokesperson for Huawei said it had “a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption or other wrongdoing, and we are committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations at all times”.
Le Soir reported that several people suspected of being lobbyists working for Huawei were detained, over the alleged bribery of current or former members of the European Parliament (MEP) to promote the company’s trade policy.
Belgian police sealed two offices inside the European Parliament at the request of the judge in charge of the case.
A spokesperson for the the prosecutor’s office told the BBC no MEPs had been directly targeted by Thursday’s raids.
A total of 21 raids were conducted in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia, the prosecutor’s office told the newspaper.
The investigation focuses on “active corruption within the European Parliament” as well as “forgery and use of forged documents”, all within the framework of a “criminal organisation”, the prosecutor’s office said, adding that it was also looking to uncover possible money laundering.
Additional reporting by Bruno Boelpaep
