Belgian prosecutors have charged five suspects as part of a corruption investigation linked to the Chinese company Huawei. Prosecutors suspect them of bribing EU lawmakers.
On March 18, Belgian prosecutors confirmed that four people have been charged with "active corruption and organizing a criminal organization" and another with money laundering. The latter has been released on bail, while arrest warrants have been issued for the others.
The prosecutor added that on March 17, new searches were carried out at the European Parliament offices in Brussels.
Earlier on March 13, two offices were sealed, one belonging to Marco Falcone (Italy/EPP) associates Paolo Campisi and Francesco Vasta, and the other to Adam Mustara, an associate of Nikola Minchev (Bulgaria/New Europe).
In addition, police have already carried out searches at Huawei's headquarters in Brussels, as well as at 21 addresses in Brussels, the Belgian regions of Flanders and Wallonia, and Portugal.
On March 14, the European Parliament temporarily banned Huawei lobbyists from entering its premises, saying this was done as a precautionary measure in accordance with security regulations.
The arrests followed an investigation by Le Soir and other media outlets, which found that lobbyists working for the Chinese telecommunications giant are suspected of bribing current or former members of the European Parliament to promote the company's trade policy in Europe.
Prosecutors said they believe the corruption began in 2021.
We previously reported that 15 members of the European Parliament were under scrutiny as part of another corruption investigation.