EU parliament bars Huawei lobbyists over graft probe

 AFP | Brussels

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The European Parliament said Friday it has barred Huawei representatives from its premises, a day after police made a series of arrests in a probe into suspected corruption on behalf of the Chinese tech giant.

Later, a spokesperson for the European Commission said Huawei lobbyists have also been barred from accessing its offices.

Several people have been detained for questioning following coordinated raids in Belgium and Portugal, for alleged involvement in “active corruption within the European Parliament, as well as for forgery and use of forgeries”.

A spokesperson for the parliament said it had decided “as a precautionary measure, to suspend the access to parliament of representatives attached to the Huawei company with immediate effect.” The EU’s legislative has premises in Brussels and Strasbourg, France.

Huawei has nine representatives accredited to the parliament, according to the EU transparency register.

Thursday’s raids came less than two years after the “Qatargate” scandal, in which EU lawmakers were accused of being paid to promote the interests of Qatar and Morocco -- something both countries deny.

Transparency campaigners, who have accused the EU parliament of resisting reform after the 2022 scandal, called on it to immediately investigate the latest claims.

The parliament has said it is fully cooperating with the Belgian authorities.

Huawei declined to comment on the access ban, referring to an earlier statement where the firm said it takes the graft allegations “seriously” and would “urgently communicate with the investigation to further understand the situation”.

“Huawei has a zero tolerance policy towards corruption or other wrongdoing, and we are committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations at all times,” the company said Friday.

Seals and denials

Belgian prosecutors said the alleged corruption dated from 2021 to the present and took “various forms”.

These included “remuneration for taking political positions or excessive gifts such as food and travel expenses or regular invitations to football matches” as part of a bid to promote “purely private commercial interests” in political decisions.

The alleged kickbacks were concealed as conference expenses and paid to various intermediaries, the office said, adding it was looking at whether money laundering had also been involved.

Belgian authorities did not disclose the exact number of arrests, nor the identity of those held.

On Thursday, seals were placed on the doors of several offices used by parliamentary assistants in Brussels and Strasbourg.

Among them were offices used by the staff of lawmakers with Italy’s Forza Italia party.