‘Huawei lobbyists’ held in raids in Belgium over EU corruption

Belgian police have raided several locations in the country as part of an investigation into corruption within the European Parliament.

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

According to officials, an address in Portugal was also searched by local police in relation to the case.

Belgian newspaper Le Soir said the investigation was linked to Chinese tech giant Huawei and its activities in Brussels since 2021. The BBC has approached Huawei for comment.

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

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

A police source told AFP news agency that no MEPs were among those arrested on Thursday.

A total of 21 raids were conducted in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia, the prosecutor’s office told the newspaper.

The investigation focuses on “active corruption within the European Parliament” as well as “forgery and use of forged documents”, all within the framework of a “criminal organisation”, the prosecutor’s office said, adding that it was also looking to uncover possible money laundering.