The accused suspects related to corruption in the European Parliament to benefit Huawei were arrested after police searched 21 facilities in Belgium and Portugal, according to the TV network Al Jazeera quoted the 13.3 from the Belgian Federal Prosecutor Office.
The European Parliament Building in Strasbourg of France
“Corruption has been thought to have happened regularly and very discreetly from 2021 to the present, under the guise of the trade corridor and in many different forms, such as remuneration for holding political positions or giving excessive gifts such as eating and walking or regularly inviting football matches,” the Belgian Federal Prosecutor Office pointed out in the notice.
Investigators believe that illegal payments may have been “mixed” into the financial flows related to the conference costs to hide the true purpose of such payments, according to prosecutors. “In this view, the investigation also aims to detect any evidence of money laundering, depending on the case,” the Belgian Federal Prosecutor Office announced.
Also according to prosecutors, after the raids, a judge supervised the case ordered to seal the office of two parliamentary assistants at the European Parliamentary headquarters in the French city of Strasbourg. The prosecutors say they cannot disclose more details, including the identities of the suspects.
In response, the European Parliament said that they had received a request for cooperation from the Belgian government and would “quickly and completely respect this request, according to AFP.
Huawei said that the group saw the allegations “seriously” and would “urgently contact the investigation to better understand the situation”. “Huawei has an uncompromising policy for corruption or other wrongdoing and we are committed to complying with all current laws and regulations,” Huawei emphasized in a statement today 14.3, according to AFP.
The aforementioned investigation was less than 3 years after a number of legislators and assistants in the European Union (EU) were entangled in a bribe scandal involving officials from Qatar and Morocco. There were 5 contemporary European MPs at that time and the former European MP had been charged in the case.
Mr. Panzeri reached an agreement to plead guilty to prosecutors in 2023, accordingly, he admitted that he was related to corruption. None of the remaining 4 people were convicted. The Qatar and Morocco governments denied all wrongdoing in that incident, according to Al Jazeera.
