EU parliament shaken by corruption investigation linked to Huawei of China

Belgian authorities announce arrests of several people in relation to the alleged bribery within Parliament.

Police have arrested several people as part of an investigation of corruption aimed at the European Parliament and the Chinese technology company Huawei, Belgian authorities said.

The suspects, who were supposedly involved in the “active corruption” within the European Parliament to benefit Huawei, were arrested after searches in 21 stores in Belgium and Portugal, said the office of the federal prosecutor of Belgium in a statement on Thursday.

“It is said that corruption has been practiced regularly and very discreetly from 2021 to the present, under the appearance of commercial lobbying and take various forms, such as remuneration for taking excessive political positions or gifts, such as food and travel expenses or regular invitations with football coincidences,” said the prosecutor’s office.

Investigators believe that illicit payments may have been “mixed” in financial flows linked to the expenses of the conference to disguise their true purpose, according to prosecutors.

“From this point of view, the investigation also aims to detect any evidence of money laundering, as the case may be,” said the prosecutor’s office.

After the raids, a judge who supervises the case ordered that stamps be placed in the offices of two parliamentary assistants at the EU Parliament headquarters in the Strasbourg of France, the prosecutors added.

Prosecutors said they could not reveal more details, including the identities of the suspects, for consideration for the presumption of innocence and the integrity of the investigation.

Huawei and spokesmen of the EU Parliament did not immediately respond to the requests for comments from Al Jazeera.

The investigation occurs less than three years after several EU legislators and assistants were involved in an alleged bribery scandal that involved Qatar and Morocco officials.

Five current and previous Eurodiputados: Eva Kaili of Greece; Loses Antonio Panzeri and Andrea Cozzolino of Italy; and Marc Tarababella and Marie Arena de Belgica, have been accused in the case.

Panzeri reached a guilt agreement with prosecutors in 2023, in which he recognized his participation in corruption.

None of the other four has been convicted.

The governments of Qatar and Moroccan have denied any irregularity in the case.