BRUSSELS: Belgian federal prosecutors on Thursday (Mar 13) announced the arrests of several people in a corruption probe linked to the European Parliament and the Chinese company Huawei, which is suspected of bribing EU lawmakers.
The arrests came as an investigation by Le Soir newspaper and other media said lobbyists working for the Chinese telecoms giant were suspected of bribing current or former European Parliament members to promote the company’s commercial policies in Europe.
The prosecutor’s office confirmed in a statement that the alleged bribery “is said to have benefited Huawei”.
About 100 federal police officers carried out 21 searches in Brussels, the Flanders and Wallonia regions, and Portugal. The investigating magistrate in charge of the case also asked for seals to be placed on offices inside the EU Parliament allocated to two parliamentary assistants allegedly involved.
Prosecutors said one person was arrested in France.
The suspects would be questioned over “alleged involvement in active corruption within the European Parliament, as well as for forgery and use of forgeries”, prosecutors said.
“The offences were allegedly committed by a criminal organisation.”
The company said in a statement that “Huawei takes these allegations seriously and will urgently communicate with the investigation to further understand the situation”.
“Huawei has a zero tolerance policy towards corruption or other wrongdoing, and we are committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations at all times,” it added.
The European Parliament said only that the assembly “takes note of the information” and “always cooperates fully with the judicial authorities”.
