Overview

• Belgian police conducted 21 raids across Belgium and three in Portugal as part of a corruption investigation involving Huawei and European Parliament members.
• The investigation alleges that Huawei lobbyists provided political payments, extravagant gifts, and perks like travel and football match invitations since 2021 under the guise of lobbying.
• An ex-parliamentary assistant, now a Huawei public affairs director, is a central figure in the probe, with multiple lobbyists detained for questioning.
• The case reportedly involves 15 current and former MEPs, though no arrests of elected officials have been made so far.
• This is the second major corruption scandal to hit the European Parliament in recent years, following the Qatargate investigation involving Qatar and Morocco in 2022.