New bribery scandal in European Parliament: ‘Huawei paid bribes’

This article was last updated on March 14, 2025

Canada: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…

New bribery scandal in European Parliament: ‘Huawei paid bribes’

The Belgian police have arrested an unknown number of people in an investigation into corruption within the European Parliament. The research is directed against the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, sources say to research platform Follow the Money (FTM), which first brought the news with Belgian media.

Huawei lobbyists would have paid bribes to MEPs in exchange for political support. 21 addresses were searched in Belgium and Portugal, where documents and things have been seized. There were no searches for members of the European Parliament.

About fifteen (former) MEPs are said to have been filled with football tickets, travel to China, gifts and possibly cash. Payments to MEPs would have been facilitated by a Portuguese company. Corruption is said to have been regularly and very discreetly from 2021 to the present.

With his technology, Huawei plays a central role in the geopolitical tensions between the US, Europe and China. The MEPs are said to have been encouraged in exchange for the gifts to keep Huawei access to the European market. The company was not available for comments for FTM.

Not the first time

It is not the first recent bribery scandal in the European Parliament. In 2022, the ‘Qatargate’Los, after Qatar and Morocco had tried to influence decisions of the European Parliament by paying bribes.

Spil would be the Greek vice -president of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili. She was arrested with three other suspects on suspicion of corruption, money laundering and membership of a criminal organization. For house searches, 1.5 million euros was found in cash. The case is still running and three of the suspects, including Kaili have always denied the accusations.

Even for Huawei it is not the first time that the company strikes in a negative sense. It was more often speculated that the Chinese government through the telecom giant spiees, or tries that. Huawei has always denied those accusations.