Huawei Suspected of Bribing European Parliament Officials with ‘Excessive Gifts and Food’

A spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office in Belgium, where the European Parliament is located, said there was an “ongoing investigation into preliminary allegations of active corruption, forgery, money laundering in the European Parliament.” Several officials have been arrested and questioned as part of the investigation. According to the Associated Press, the Chinese company Huawei is suspected of bribing EU officials.

Police raided several addresses in Belgium and Portugal. Two European Parliament offices linked to officials allegedly involved were sealed. According to a spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, “the crimes were allegedly committed by a criminal organisation to advance purely private commercial interests in the context of political decisions.”

To date, no MEPs have been charged, but at least 15 current and former MEPs are under investigation. “The corruption is alleged to have been practiced regularly and very covertly from 2021 to the present, under the guise of commercial lobbying and has taken various forms, such as compensation for political positions or excessive gifts such as food and travel expenses, or regular invitations to [football] matches,” the Belgian prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Huawei said it takes the allegations “seriously” and will “promptly engage with the investigation” to better understand the matter. A company spokesperson said “Huawei has a zero-tolerance policy for corruption or other wrongdoing, and is committed to always complying with all applicable laws and regulations.”

A European Parliament spokesman said the legislature had “received a request for cooperation from the Belgian authorities to assist with the investigation, which the parliament will comply with quickly.”