Belgian prosecutors arrest in the corruption investigation of the European Parliament

Several people have been arrested as part of an investigation of corruption linked to the European Parliament, Belgian federal prosecutors said.

The arrests arrive amid reports in local media that the Chinese company Huawei bribed EU politicians.

Federal Police officers made 21 searches in Brussels, as well as in Flanders, Wallonia and Portugal, said the federal prosecutor’s office.

The suspects were arrested for interrogating in “connection with their alleged participation in active corruption within the European Parliament, as well as for falsification and use of falsifications,” prosecutors said.

“The crimes were supposedly committed by a criminal organization.”

According to an investigation by the newspaper Le Soir and other media, the lobbyists who work for the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei are suspected to bribe the current and previous Eurodiputs to promote the company’s commercial policy in Europe.