Huawei bribery scandal rocks European Parliament

BRUSSELS — Authorities raided more than 20 addresses and sealed two offices in the European Parliament on Thursday, as part of a spiraling bribery probe into Chinese technology giant Huawei's lobbying activities in Europe.

Authorities "have an ongoing investigation on preliminary charges of active corruption, forgery of documents, money laundering at the European Parliament,” a spokesperson for the Belgian Prosecutor’s office said. The "alleged bribery" would have benefited China's Huawei, the office later added.

Police raided 21 addresses in Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia and in Portugal, and several people have been arrested, prosecutors said.

The European Parliament is already facing intense scrutiny over foreign states' influence on EU decision-making in the Qatargate scandal that erupted in December 2022, when the Gulf state was accused of having sought to influence Brussels and the European Parliament, in particular through bribes and gifts via intermediary organizations.

Two offices in the European Parliament were sealed by police on Thursday, POLITICO found. One belonged to Adam Mouchtar, a long-time official and current assistant to newly elected MEP Nikola Minchev. Mouchtar was also co-founder of a group called EU40 that had as its president Greek politician Eva Kaili — a key figure in the Qatargate corruption probe.

Mouchtar confirmed to POLITICO his office was sealed but denied any wrongdoing.

The other sealed office did not have customary name tags at the door. Parliament records indicated that the office belonged to assistants of long-time Italian conservative MEP Fulvio Martusciello and for his party peer Marco Falcone. It is unclear which of the assistants and MEPs would be impacted by the investigation.

Contacted, Martusciello said the office sealed "is not mine" but declined to provide more information, including whether the office belonged to any of his assistants. Martusciello declined to comment on the allegations at the center of the probe.

Falcone and his assistants did not respond to POLITICO's request for comment prior to publication of this article. His office sent a statement to journalists on March 18 stating the office was returned to his assistants. Falcone said in the statement: "This office was sealed by the authorities last Thursday. Yesterday afternoon, the DG Safe of the European Parliament removed the seals which, I want to remind you, were placed despite the full extraneousness — mine and that of my assistants Mr Francesco Vasta and Mr Paolo Campisi — to the Huawei investigation," adding that "our parliamentary activity and the meetings held with stakeholders in recent months have never concerned this area."

Spotlight on Huawei

The new investigation zones in on Huawei, China's technology giant that was once a lobbying powerhouse in Europe but faced setbacks in Europe in the past years over the security risks associated with its ties to the Chinese government.

Dutch investigative news outlet Follow the Money and Belgian publications Le Soir and Knack first reported that prosecutors were looking into wrongdoing linked to Huawei.

Two people working in the building of Huawei's main lobbying office for the European Union in Brussels told POLITICO they had seen police officers enter on Thursday morning and added that they were still on the premises at noon. Police officers later left Huawei's Brussels offices carrying four boxes with documents and various seized materials.

The Belgian public prosecutor's office said the alleged misconduct took place "regularly and very discreetly from 2021 to the present day, under the guise of commercial lobbying."

Incidents that are being investigated include "remuneration for taking political positions, excessive gifts like food and travel expenses and regular invitations to football matches ... with a view to promoting purely private commercial interests in the context of political decisions," the statement said.

Investigators have around 15 former and current MEPs “on the radar," Follow The Money, Le Soir and Knack wrote.

The prosecutor's office on Thursday afternoon announced it had "requested that seals be affixed to the premises of the European Parliament, more specifically to the offices allocated to two parliamentary assistants allegedly involved."

A spokesperson from the European Parliament said Thursday afternoon: “We have received a request for cooperation from the Belgian authorities to assist the investigation which the Parliament will swiftly honor.”

Victor Negrescu, Parliament's vice president for transparency and anti-corruption, said the allegations "are deeply concerning," adding "we cannot accept that individuals under accusations are the ones influencing decisions and drafting European legislation."

A Huawei spokesperson said in a statement: "Huawei takes these allegations seriously and will urgently communicate with the investigation to further understand the situation. Huawei has a zero tolerance policy towards corruption or other wrongdoing, and we are committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations at all times."

Promoting 'commercial interests'

POLITICO reported in 2023 that Belgian intelligence is scrutinizing the operations of the Chinese technology giant, according to confidential documents seen by POLITICO and three people familiar with the matter.

The documents and people revealed that Belgium's State Security Service had requested interviews with former employees of the company’s lobbying operation in the heart of Brussels’ European district, as part of intelligence gathering to scrutinize how China may be using non-state actors — including senior lobbyists in Huawei’s Brussels office — to advance the interests of the Chinese state and its ruling Communist party in Europe.

Belgian security services are tasked with overseeing operations led by foreign actors around the EU institutions.

The country's federal prosecutors said Thursday morning "the offences were allegedly committed by a criminal organisation" and were conducted with the aim of promoting "purely private commercial interests in the context of political decisions."

One ex-lobbyist who worked for Huawei in Europe said in response to the new developments that "we had a huge pressure to reach out to lawmakers, especially coming from the U.S. It was very difficult to meet with officials because Huawei was persona non grata."

POLITICO in 2023 reported that a senior lobbyist for Huawei in 2020 had called former Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton on his personal mobile number, in a phone call that "appaled" the commissioner and led to a formal apology letter from Huawei's Rotating Chairman Ken Hu to the European Commission chief.

European Commission Spokesperson Thomas Regnier on Thursday declined to comment on the prosecutors' allegations. "Huawei represents higher risks than other 5G suppliers; this point could be included in risk assessments on tenders within the EU," Regnier added, referring to policies implemented in past years to reduce Europe's dependency on the Chinese 5G supplier.

'Credibility of institution at stake'

The news caused a stir at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where members of the chamber are gathering this week for a plenary session.

Manon Aubry, co-chair of The Left group, said "the accusations are extremely serious" and "again [expose] the failures of European institutions in ensuring the integrity of European representatives and the protection of democracy."

Dutch liberal member Bart Groothuis said he expected "a clear and forceful response from European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. The credibility of our institution is at stake, so no ifs or buts but a clear and forceful measures should be taken."

Daniel Freund, a German member of the Greens' group in Parliament, said "it is unfortunately no surprise. Corruption prevention in the EU is inadequate. This case must be quickly investigated."

"If in doubt, Huawei should be banned from the premises for the duration of the investigation," Freund said. "We must finally stop treating such incidents as minor offenses. Corruption must be punished harshly."

Antoaneta Roussi, Elisa Braun and Mathieu Pollet reported from Brussels. Max Griera reported from Strasbourg. Csongor Körömi, Sarah Wheaton and Laurens Cerulus contributed reporting.

This story has been updated to include new developments and a comment from MEP Marco Falcone.