5 charged, new raids in Huawei corruption scandal at EU parliament in Belgium

Five people have been charged in an investigation into suspected corruption in the European Parliament involving Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies, Belgian prosecutors said on Tuesday, adding that new raids were carried out.

The suspects were first detained on Thursday when dozens of police officers launched raids in Belgium and Portugal, investigating suspected corruption within the EU parliament.

The scandal comes two years after several European Union lawmakers were accused of being paid to promote the interests of Qatar and Morocco – something both countries deny.

A Belgian judge on Tuesday charged four people with “active corruption and criminal organisation” and kept them in pre-trial detention, the federal prosecutor’s office said.

A fifth, charged with money laundering, was released under conditions.

The fresh searches at the offices in the EU Parliament took place on Monday, it added.