Belgium charges 8 people in Huawei-linked EU bribery probe

Eight people have been charged with corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation following a probe into suspected bribery at the European Parliament, Belgium’s public prosecutor said in a statement on Friday.

Belgian federal prosecutors said that eight people have been charged with active corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation. Three of them remain in custody, while the other five have been released with some placed under house arrest.

It came after Belgian prosecutors said on March 13 that they had detained several individuals over suspected bribery in the European Parliament allegedly for the benefit of China’s Huawei.

Last month, police carried out raids at over 20 sites in Belgium and Portugal as part of an investigation into alleged illicit payments by Huawei. The probe centers on claims that the company made illegal payments to obtain an open letter backing its interests, signed by eight European lawmakers.

Investigators are looking into possible embezzlement or gifts offered by Huawei representatives or lobbyists to members of the parliament to defend its interests in the deployment of 5G telecommunications technology.

Belgian prosecutors said the alleged corruption dated from 2021 to the present.

The Huawei investigation came two years after the “Qatargate” scandal, in which EU lawmakers were accused of being paid to promote the interests of Qatar and Morocco – something both countries deny.

With inputs from agencies