Belgian police have suffered several locations in the country as part of a corruption investigation within the European Parliament.
Prosecutors said that alleged corruption was “a guilty of commercial lobbying” and that several people were detained for examination.
According to officials, local police also searched the address in Portugal.
Belgian newspaper Le Soir said the investigation was related to the Chinese technological giant Huawei and its activities in Brussels since 2021. BBC approached Huawei for comment.
“Corruption was reportedly practiced regularly and very discreetly from 2021 to the present day, under the guilty of commercial lobbying and taking of various forms, such as political positions or excessive gifts such as food and travel costs or regular invitations to football games,” explained the Prosecutor’s Office.
Le Soir reported that several people suspected of working for Huawei were detained for the alleged bribery of the current or former members of the European Parliament (MEP) to promote the company’s trade policy.
The police source told the AFP news agency that no representative officer was among those arrested on Thursday.
In Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia, a total of 21 raids were conducted, a newspaper prosecution said.
The investigation focuses on “active corruption in the European Parliament”, as well as “forgery and the use of forged documents”, all within the “criminal organization”, the prosecution said, adding that it also sought to discover the possible money laundry.
