New corruption scandal rocks EU Parliament, Belgian police conduct raids
Belgian police conduct raids as new corruption scandal rocks EU Parliament
Several individuals have been arrested.
ANTOANETA ROUSSI and ELISA BRAUN for POLITICO.EU
Belgian federal police conducted raids in the early hours of Thursday, as part of a corruption probe impacting the European Parliament.
“We can confirm that we have an ongoing investigation on preliminary charges of active corruption, forgery of documents, money laundering at the European Parliament,” a spokesperson for the Belgian Prosecutor’s office said.
Around 15 former and current MEPs are “on the radar” of the investigators. | James Arthur Gekiere/BELGA/AFP via Getty Images
Police conducted raids on 21 addresses in Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia and in Portugal, the spokesperson added. Several individuals have been arrested.
Investigative news outlet Follow the Money and Belgian publications Le Soir and Knack first reported on the news, writing that prosecutors were looking into wrongdoing linked to Chinese technology giant Huawei. One person with knowledge of the investigation also confirmed the investigation was linked to Huawei.
Investigators have around 15 former and current MEPs “on the radar,” according to Follow The Money, Le Soir and Knack.
“The European Parliament takes note of the information,” a spokesperson from the European Parliament said. “When requested it always cooperates fully with the judicial authorities.”
POLITICO reported in 2023 that Belgian intelligence was scrutinizing the operations of the Chinese technology giant, according to confidential documents seen by POLITICO and three people familiar with the matter.
Belgium’s State Security Service (VSSE) had requested interviews with former employees of the company’s lobbying operation in the heart of Brussels’ European district, as part of intelligence gathering to scrutinize how China may be using non-state actors — including senior lobbyists in Huawei’s Brussels office — to advance the interests of the Chinese state and its Communist party in Europe.
One ex-lobbyist who worked for Huawei in Europe said in response to the new developments that “we had a huge pressure to reach out to lawmakers, especially coming from the U.S. It was very difficult to meet with officials because Huawei was persona non grata.”
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Max Griera, Sarah Wheaton and Laurens Cerulus contributed reporting.
This story is being updated.
