Lobby scandal in connection with Huawei: What we know so far

The European Parliament shaked a large corruption examination in March and focused on the allegations that Chinese technology giant Huawei included in illegal lobby practices in order to influence EU policy in its favor. The probe has led to several arrests and office attacks on Parliament's seat in Brussels and provoked a temporary ban from the Huawei lobbyists in response.

What is it about?

The Belgian prosecutors check whether Huawei orchestrates a hidden influence campaign within the European Parliament. The investigators check whether the representatives of Huawei from 2021 offer bribes for Meps and their assistants.

According to the Belgian prosecutor, corruption is said to have been practiced regularly and very discreetly under the guise of commercial lobbying, and included remuneration, excessive gifts such as food and travel expenses or regular invitations to play football.

These incentives allegedly aimed to secure cheap political positions on topics that are of interest to the Chinese company.

What has the Belgian prosecutor decided so far?

On March 13, the Belgian authorities carried out 21 searches throughout Belgium and Portugal, including raids on Huawei's headquarters in Brussels and the offices of some parliamentary assistants. These actions led to several arrests and the confiscation of documents and electronic devices.

Subsequently, eight people were charged with criminal organization for criminal offenses such as corruption, money laundering and participation. Among these are three in custody, three are subject to electronic surveillance, and two were published under the conditions, according to the latest information from the Belgian public prosecutor.

Who is involved?

The prosecutor has not named any of the suspects, but several media offers reported on the name of Valerio Ottati, a Belgian-Italian lobbyist who is Huawei Director for public affairs and had worked as an assistant to several members of the parliament. Ottati is considered the central figure in the alleged bribe scheme. He did not answer the commentary inquiries from Euronews.

Abraham Liu, chief representative of the EU institution for Huawei, is also involved in the case, according to media reports.

The Belgian prosecutor also asked to increase the immunity of five members of the European Parliament in order to examine their participation.

Three of them belong to the European People's Party in the right middle: the Italians Salvatore de Meo, Giussi Princi and Fulvio Martusciello. The others are the Maltese Socialist MP Daniel Attard and the Bulgarian renewal Europe's Mate Nikola Minge.

Offices of the assistants of Meps Marco Falcone (Italy/EPP) and Nikola Minchev (Bulgaria/Rene Europa) were sealed during the examination, while assistant Lucia Simeone was arrested in Italy and then published.

What were the consequences in parliament?

The Italian newspaper La Repubblica has cited a letter from 2021, which was signed by eight MPs who are committed to the continued development of 5G technology in Europe without geopolitical obstacles for the investigation.

Huawei was not explicitly mentioned in the letter advertised by Martuscielle's office, but prosecutors believe that he was manufactured to promote the interests of the company. The investigators claim that payments were made to the author and the co -signers of the letter who have been disguised as advisory fees and campaign costs according to reports. Did the prosecutors have given no information?

Five of the eight MPs who signed the letter and who are still members of the parliament said Euronews said that they had not received any Huawei payments.

How the EU institutions reacted

The European Parliament immediately exposed the Huawei lobbyists from access to its premises, precautionary measures. This means that the company's representatives cannot enter Parliament's premises in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg.

The European Commission also exposed relationships with Huawei. “The Commission should not meet with lobby groups and/or trade associations that speak the interests of Huawei and/or in its name,” said the executive in an explanation.

Huawei has explained that it takes the allegations seriously and committed to cooperation with the investigation and emphasizes that the company has a “zero tolerance guideline for corruption or other misconduct” and “complies with compliance with all applicable laws and regulations at any time”.