On Tuesday, March 18, the federal prosecutors in Belgium stated that they have charged five individuals in connection to a bribery case involving the European Parliament, which is related to the Chinese company Huawei. Among them, four are accused of corruption and involvement in criminal organizations, while one is charged with money laundering.
According to Euronews, the Belgian prosecutors suspect that Huawei bribed European Parliament members, and these five individuals are facing charges in relation to a corruption probe involving Huawei.
One of the individuals charged with money laundering may be released under certain conditions, while the other four have been arrested. The prosecutors have not disclosed the names of the individuals involved nor provided any information that could identify them.
The prosecutors also mentioned that a new search was conducted at the European Parliament office in Brussels on Monday.
On March 13, two offices at the European Parliament were sealed off, one belonging to the assistant of MEP Marco Falcone from the Italian/European People’s Party, Paolo Campisi, and Francesco Vasta, and the other belonging to the assistant of MEP Nikola Minchev from the Bulgarian/European Renaissance Party, Adam Mouchtar.
Police also conducted searches at Huawei’s headquarters in Brussels, as well as at 21 locations in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia regions of Belgium, and Portugal among others.
The European edition of Politico reported on March 13 that a spokesperson for the Belgian prosecutors’ office stated that the authorities are investigating preliminary accusations of active corruption, document forgery, money laundering, etc., within the European Parliament. The office later added that the suspected bribery activities were benefiting the Chinese company Huawei.
Investigative news media from the Netherlands, Follow the Money, and Belgian publications Le Soir and Knack were the first to report that the prosecutors are looking into illicit activities related to Huawei.
On March 14, the European Parliament temporarily banned Huawei lobbyists, citing it as a precautionary measure in line with their security regulations.
Huawei stated last week that the company takes these allegations seriously and has a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption or any unlawful activities, committing to always abide by all applicable laws and regulations.
The prosecutors mentioned that the suspected corrupt activities have been carried out in a “very discreet manner” since 2021, under the guise of commercial lobbying, involving payments or excessive gifting to advocate for certain political positions, such as offering food, travel expenses, or regularly inviting individuals to attend football matches.