BRUSSELS:  , Belgian federal prosecutors on Thursday ( Mar 13 ) announced the arrests of several people in a corruption probe linked to the , European Parliament , and the , Chinese company Huawei,  , which is suspected of bribing EU lawmakers.
The arrests came as an analysis by Le Soir newspapers and other media said activists working for the Chinese telecoms giant were suspected of bribing current or former European Parliament members to market the company’s corporate policies in Europe.
The attorney’s office confirmed in a speech that the alleged corruption “is said to have benefited Huawei”.
About 100 national police officers carried out 21 requests in Brussels, the Flanders and Wallonia parts, and Portugal. The investigating magistrate in charge of the case even asked for seals to get placed on practices inside the EU Parliament allocated to two legislative assistants allegedly involved.
Lawyers said one man was arrested in France.
The suspects may become questioned over “alleged engagement in lively corruption within the European Parliament, as well as for fraud and use of frauds”, prosecutors said.
” The crimes were reportedly committed by a criminal company”.
The organization said in a speech that” Huawei takes these claims seriously and will immediately connect with the research to further understand the situation”.
” Huawei has a zero tolerance policy towards fraud or other wrong, and we are committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations at all times”, it added.
The European Parliament said only that the legislature “takes statement of the details” and “always interacts entirely with the criminal specialists”.