Suspicions centre on alleged corruption scheme involving Chinese giant Huawei
Breaking news in Portugal today centres on various searches that have been going on, in this country and elsewhere, into suspicions of corruption within the European Parliament.
According to national reports, citing Belgian newspaper Le Soir, searches have also been going on in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia.
At issue is an alleged corruption scheme involving Chinese tech giant Huawei, current and former MEPs and several lobbyists who work, or have worked, for the company.
Le Soir broke the news in partnership with local weekly Knack, the Follow The Money platform and journalists from Reporters United.
It follows several months of investigation, explains SIC. “Several lobbyists working for Chinese telecoms company Huawei have been arrested on suspicion of having bribed current or former MEPs to promote the company’s commercial policy in Europe”.
In total, the Belgian Federal Police carried out 21 searches in the Brussels region, as well as in Flanders and Wallonia. According to a source, searches were also carried out in Portugal, says SIC (see below)
PJ judicial police have confirmed the searches, the media outlet adds.
According to Le Soir, the operation conducted by the Belgian Central Office for the Repression of Corruption, involved searches at the homes of several lobbyists who work or have worked for Huawei and who are suspected of crimes such as corruption, forgery and the use of false documents, money laundering and criminal organisation.
The alleged corruption scheme took the form of valuable gifts, such as mobile phones, tickets to football matches (Huawei has a private box at the RSC Anderlecht stadium) and “also a few thousand euros”, says SIC.
“The corruption would have been practised regularly and very discreetly from 2021 to the present day, under the guise of commercial ‘lobbying’ and taking various forms, such as remuneration for political office or even excessive gifts, such as food and travel expenses, or even regular invitations to football matches,” the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) has said in a statement, quoted by Le Soir.
The ‘Portuguese connection’ appears to have come in the form of a company: money transfers were allegedly made through that company, which was raided this morning.
The MPF statement suggests that the financial benefits from the alleged scheme were added to ‘financial flows linked to the payment of conference expenses and paid to various intermediaries’ in order to conceal their nature.
