Huawei and the New Corruption Scandal in Brussels: A Second Qatargate?

The European Parliament is a corrupt, venal body, with the MEPs more concerned with lining their own pockets than the concerns of their constituents. 

From The European Conservative

By Javier Villamor

At least 15 MEPs are implicated in a bribery investigation alleging attempts to influence legislation favoring the Chinese company.

A new corruption scandal is shaking up the European Parliament. The investigation, revealed on Thursday, March 13th, alleges that the Chinese tech multinational Huawei may have bought favors from at least 15 Members of the European Parliament in exchange for influencing key legislative decisions to benefit its commercial interests within the European Union. The magnitude of this case is reminiscent of the Qatargate scandal, which in 2022 exposed how Qatar and Morocco influenced European politics through bribes.

In a coordinated operation, the Belgian Federal Police conducted 21 searches in Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia, and Portugal. The raids included Huawei’s headquarters in the Belgian capital and the homes of several of its lobbyists. According to Follow The Money, investigators are searching for evidence of bribery, money laundering, and document forgery within the framework of a criminal organization. The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that several people have been questioned, although the names of the implicated MEPs have not yet been revealed.

One of the main suspects in the investigation is Valerio Ottati, a 41-year-old Belgian-Italian citizen and former adviser to two Italian MEPs from the European People’s Party (EPP) and the Social Democratic (S&D) group. Ottati was hired by Huawei in 2019 as Director of Public Affairs for the EU when the company faced increasing European restrictions due to its ties with the Chinese government.

According to Le Soir, the prosecution claims that “Huawei representatives played the role of corruption agents regularly and very discreetly from 2021 to the present, under the guise of commercial lobbying.”

Seized documents suggest that Huawei used multiple channels to secure the loyalty of MEPs. The detected forms of corruption include luxury gifts (VIP tickets to sports events, including matches at Lotto Park, home of RSC Anderlecht, where Huawei has a private box), covert payments (transfers of thousands of euros through a company in Portugal), luxury trips and dinners (invitations to exclusive events in China and Europe), and the distribution of high-end devices (Huawei phones and telecommunications equipment).

The prosecution suspects these bribes were carefully designed to avoid easy detection, blurring the lines between lobbying and corruption. According to Knack, some payments were justified as reimbursements for conference attendance expenses, while others were funneled through intermediaries to conceal their true nature.

“The ultimate goal of payments to MEPs was to promote Huawei’s purely private commercial interests in the context of political decisions,” the prosecution stated, as cited by Follow The Money.

The Qatargate scandal had already discredited the European Parliament, revealing how some members accepted suitcases full of cash in exchange for political favors. Although preliminary evidence in this new case suggests that Huawei’s bribes were not in money but through favors and covert transfers, the core problem remains the same: the European Parliament’s vulnerability to foreign influence.

The investigation, dubbed ‘Operation Generation,’ could lead to requests to lift the immunity of several MEPs. However, as seen in Qatargate, judicial proceedings in Belgium can drag on for years without immediate consequences for those involved.

While the EU portrays itself as a stronghold of democracy and transparency, the recurring corruption scandals reveal a different reality. Foreign lobbies continue to wield disproportionate influence over European legislation, often to the detriment of citizens’ interests.