“Huawei lobbyists” held in raids in Belgium for EU corruption

Belgian police have attacked several places in the country as part of an investigation into corruption in the European Parliament.

Prosecutors said the alleged corruption was “under the guise of commercial lobbying” and that several people were detained for questioning.

According to officials, an address in Portugal was also searched by local police, while one person was arrested in France.

The Belgian newspaper Le Soir said the investigation was related to Chinese technology giant Huawei and its activities in Brussels since 2021. The BBC addressed Huawei for comment.

“Corruption is said to be practiced regularly and very discreetly from 2021 to the present day, under the guise of commercial lobbying and accepting various forms, such as compensation for political positions or excessive gifts such as food and travel expenses or regular invitations for football matches,” the prosecutor’s office explained.

Le Soir reported that several lobbyist suspected people were working for Huawei, they were detained over the estimated bribe of current or former European Parliament (MEP) members to promote the company’s trade policy.

The Belgian police sealed two services in the European Parliament at the request of the judge responsible for the case.

A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said the BBC No had not been directly targeted by the attacks on Thursday.

A total of 21 raids were held in Brussels, Flanders and Walonia, the newspaper prosecutor’s office said.

The investigation focuses on “active corruption within the European Parliament”, as well as on “counterfeit and use of forged documents”, all within a “criminal organization,” the prosecutor’s office said, adding that it also seeks to make possible money laundering.

Additional reporting from Bruno Boelpaep