The European Parliament has been hit with yet another alleged corruption scandal centred around foreign influence.
In this case some 15 MEPs were suspected of having taken bribes for promoting Chinese commercial interests.
Early on March 13, Belgian authorities launched a major operation in which approximately 100 officers searched 21 properties linked to MEPs and their staff.
The raids were part of an investigation into allegations that these individuals illegitimately advocated for Chinese technology giant Huawei’s interests in European policy circles in exchange for various favours.
News outlets Le Soir, Knack and Follow the Money said on March 13 the investigation started more than two years ago following a tip by the Belgian intelligence service. It had been scrutinising Huawei, according to media reports in March 2023.
Belgian federal police conducted searches at the premises of Huawei lobbyists as part of an investigation into allegations of corruption, money laundering, forgery and participation in a criminal organisation.
Documents and items were seized in raids across Belgium and in Portugal but no searches were undertaken in the European Parliament itself and requests to lift relevant immunities have yet to made.
Several unnamed lobbyists have reportedly been detained, possibly to be presented later before the investigating judge.
A spokesperson for the European Parliament told Brussels Signal on March 13: “The European Parliament takes note of the information. When requested it always cooperates fully with the judicial authorities.”
Police have sought evidence regarding allegations Huawei representatives broke the law in attempts to influence around 15 MEPs, it was reported.
The federal prosecutor’s office in Belgium confirmed in a press release sent to Brussels Signal: “Several individuals have been arrested for questioning in connection with their alleged involvement in active corruption within the European Parliament, as well as for forgery and use of false documents.”
“The offences were allegedly committed by a criminal organisation.”
The investigation was reportedly currently focused primarily on charges including participation in a criminal organisation and money laundering.
Sources told the three news outlets that broke the story that, at this stage, authorities were not investigating potential foreign interference by China.
According to the investigation, code-named Operation Generation, Huawei was suspected of giving tickets to football games – Huawei has a private box at Lotto Park, the home of RSC Anderlecht,. In addition, luxurious trips to China, Huawei smartphones, food expenses, gifts and possibly thousands of euros were allegedly given in exchange for positive promotion of the firm.
The federal prosecutor’s office said the incidents “allegedly took place regularly and very discreetly from 2021 until today, under the guise of commercial lobbying”.
A Portuguese company reportedly was suspected of facilitating payments to MEPs and prosecutors were said to believe that bribes were allegedly combined with conference fees and paid through various intermediaries.
According to the code of conduct for MEPs, any property donated by a third party with a value of more than €150 must be declared and publicly listed in the gift register.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office stated: “The financial advantages linked to the alleged corruption may have been mixed up in financial flows linked to the defrayal of conference expenses, and paid to various intermediaries, with a view to concealing their illicit nature or enabling the perpetrators to escape the consequences of their actions.”
“From this point of view, the investigation also aims to detect any evidence of money laundering, as the case may be.”
Until March 13, it was a case “under embargo”, meaning that the minutes of the preliminary investigation were not added to the police database and only a limited number of magistrates and officers were aware of proceedings.
In exchange for the alleged benefits, the MEPs were accused of arguing against growing concerns around Huawei over national security, espionage and its ties to the Chinese government.
In particular, regarding fears that its capacities related to 5G networks could be exploited for espionage purposes.
The European Parliament knows Beijing's influence operations all too well – even in this current geopolitical climate, China is not a partner but is a systemic rival and increasingly a security threat. #HuaweiGate https://t.co/L0ltywq9T6
— Engin Eroglu (@EnginEroglu_FW) March 13, 2025
In recent years, multiple European Union member states have implemented measures to exclude “high-risk vendors” from their 5G networks.
Huawei has consistently and categorically denied these allegations.
Brussels Signal repeatedly reached out to the company for comment but had not received a reply by the time of publication.
Proof of Chinese interference at the European level would come at a difficult time. The EU is struggling with US tariffs and European Commission President von der Leyen has signalled a renewed willingness to work with Beijing.
Since Chinese companies are intimately linked to the Chinese regime, despite claiming the contrary, the investigation’s results could turn out to spur an explosive diplomatic situation.
While Huawei lobbyists’ efforts to promote the company’s interests may or may not have crossed legal boundaries into corruption, a more concerning scenario would be if this case revealed the Chinese Government has been directly orchestrating influence operations, using the technology company, for example, as a proxy to interfere in EU affairs.
Huawei is registered as a lobbying organisation in the Transparency Register of the European Institutions.
Since 2019, it has been trying to counter US efforts to persuade Europeans not to buy Chinese equipment for 5G networks with 18 lobbyists.
It is said to have paid €1.7 million to European think-tanks and institutions, allowing them to join conferences and public events.
One person named in this case by the three media outlets was Belgian-Italian lobbyist Valerio Ottati. He used to work as an assistant for two Italian MEPs.
One was reported to be then-MEP Nicola Caputo of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and the other Crescenzio Rivellini, from the European People’s Party.
Both were members of the unofficial EU-China Friendship Group in the European Parliament, but have not been named in the investigation by the prosecutor.
The Belgian federal prosecutor said of the current probe: “Further information, including personal data and/or any other elements enabling the identification of the persons involved, may not be disclosed at this stage, in accordance with the presumption of innocence of the persons concerned and the investigation itself.”
In 2021, eight MEPs from across the political spectrum wrote an open letter in opposition to the “technological racism” of Europeans opposing Chinese technological products. Five of them were Italian, the others Romanian.
The latest corruption investigation came just over three years after the Qatargate scandal broke, where MEPs allegedly took bribes for influence from Qatar and Morocco. That is still ongoing, having faced procedural quarrels and new indictments.
The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office has asked the European Parliament to waive the parliamentary immunity of two MEPs in connection with the Qatargate scandal. https://t.co/rFy9hTHVL9
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) March 5, 2025
Update: On March 14, Brussels Signal received a reply from Huawei.
“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.”
