A letter circulated in 2021 inside the European Parliament has become a focal point in a corruption scandal involving Huawei, with investigators now probing whether the document was part of a larger bribery effort backed by the Chinese telecom company.
Authorities have zeroed in on the eight lawmakers who signed the letter, which called for the EU to halt security measures that would impact Chinese infrastructure providers. Though the letter did not mention Huawei by name, its message matched the firm’s public opposition to restrictions.
What is going on in Europe?
The E.U. is now embroiled in a spiraling corruption & bribery scandal involving CCP spy gear maker Huawei.
The corruption scandal involves “preliminary charges of active corruption, forgery of documents, money laundering” at the European Parliament. pic.twitter.com/guS56y8TZK
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) March 14, 2025
Belgian prosecutors believe the letter’s creation may have involved direct payment to its author, with investigators estimating the writer was offered over $16,000. Those who added their names may have received around $1,600 each.
Corruption in the Parliament – Same old?
"Huawei had a great interest, big money" @petras_petras
"There's rules to enforce ethics guidelines, but they choose not to" @swheaton
"This is unacceptable" R. Lewis @Brussels_School
Watch #BrusselsMyLove all weekend on @euronews pic.twitter.com/hKdMoM4F84
— euronews (@euronews) March 23, 2025
The scandal has expanded quickly. Police searched 21 locations across Belgium and Portugal as part of the probe, which now includes at least 15 current and former European lawmakers. Five people have already been charged. Four face corruption and organized crime charges, while the fifth was accused of money laundering.
Belgian police conducted raids on Huawei's offices in Brussels and the homes of the company's lobbyists as part of an investigation into alleged corruption within the European Parliament. Authorities suspect that the Chinese tech giant offered bribes and luxury privileges to… pic.twitter.com/aeYxCARFrN
— TVP World (@TVPWorld_com) March 15, 2025
Italian politician Fulvio Martusciello was one of the lawmakers who signed the letter. His assistant and a former parliamentary aide have both been arrested. Investigators say Huawei used incentives such as travel perks, expensive meals and repeated access to sporting events to cultivate influence in Parliament.
2025.3.16 Belgium is investigating Huawei, a CCP military-linked company associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), over allegations of bribing European Parliament members and engaging in illegal lobbying to undermine espionage accusations and sway EU policies. Raids… pic.twitter.com/GfLxwBIQ9S
— 台灣寶島農場🇹🇼 (@N0000024) March 17, 2025
Huawei responded by reaffirming its commitment to anti-corruption standards and said it takes the investigation seriously. Prosecutors, however, said the bribes were disguised to appear as part of normal lobbying operations.
Huawei not only uses predatory pricing practices to undercut the more secure western products but it appears they use bribery too…https://t.co/zDNuCJ3W7h
— Rob Joyce (@RGB_Lights) March 19, 2025
Despite the serious allegations, the European Parliament has not issued a formal comment. Offices connected to the Parliament were among the locations searched during the most recent wave of police action.
The case follows previous scandals involving bribes from Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania, which saw members of Parliament accused of taking millions to shape EU foreign policy.
