Once again, a corruption scandal looms over the European Parliament (EP), as investigators from the Belgian federal judicial police conducted 21 searches across the Brussels region, Flanders, Wallonia, and Portugal. According to the Belgian outlet Le Soir, after several months of investigations, authorities have arrested multiple lobbyists working for the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, suspected of bribing current and former MEPs to promote the company’s trade policies.
Investigators also raided Huawei’s office in Brussels, with charges including corruption, forgery, the use of forged documents, money laundering, and criminal organization. Until Thursday, the case—codenamed ‘Generation’—was kept ‘under embargo’, meaning preliminary investigation reports had not yet been entered into police databases, and only a limited number of magistrates and officers were aware of the probe.
According to Le Soir, the primary target of the operation is Valerio Ottati, director of public affairs for Huawei’s European Union office since 2019. Ottati previously served as a parliamentary assistant to two former Italian MEPs—one from the European People’s Party (EPP) and one from the Socialists and Democrats (S&D)—for ten years. Sources told the Belgian outlet that Ottati was specifically hired due to his connections within the EP.
‘Investigators reportedly have concrete suspicions of corruption involving a handful of current or former elected officials, as well as some 15 MEPs’
Unlike Qatargate—the 2022 corruption scandal that rocked the European Parliament’s mainstream parties, particularly S&D and EPP—the current case does not involve large cash bribes. Instead, the alleged bribery was more discreet, relying on gifts of valuable items, including smartphones and football match tickets.
‘Corruption is said to have been practised regularly and very discreetly from 2021 to the present under the guise of commercial lobbying. It took various forms, such as remuneration for political positions or excessive gifts, including food, travel expenses, and regular invitations to football matches,’ confirmed the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office.
According to Le Soir, it is not out of the question that authorities may request the lifting of parliamentary immunity for certain MEPs as investigations progress. Investigators reportedly have concrete suspicions of corruption involving a handful of current or former elected officials from several political parties, as well as some 15 MEPs. On Tuesday afternoon the offices of two parliamentary assistants were sealed, though their identities have not yet been disclosed.
The Capital of Corruption
This latest probe adds to the growing number of corruption-related cases involving long-ruling mainstream coalition figures from EPP, S&D, Renew, and other EU institutions. The wave of scandals began with Qatargate in December 2022, when Belgian police arrested Greek Socialist MEP Eva Kaili—who was then Vice President of the European Parliament—along with her partner Francesco Giorgi and former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri. Authorities found more than €1.5 million in cash hidden in the homes of Kaili and Panzeri, while Kaili’s father was caught attempting to flee a Brussels hotel with a suitcase full of money.
Kaili and other implicated MEPs, including left-wing lawmakers Andrea Cozzolino and Marc Tarabella, were accused of accepting bribes from Qatari and Moroccan officials in exchange for favourable votes in the European Parliament.
The scandal also revealed how MEPs travelled extensively on Qatari and Moroccan funds, attempted to influence European decision-making, and laundered money through non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Despite the overwhelming evidence, more than two years have passed without any significant sentences. Many of the accused have evaded serious consequences, and some remain active in the European Parliament today.
Another corruption probe was launched in October 2024 against Manfred Weber’s chief of staff, Ouarda Bensouag. Weber, the leader of the EPP and a frequent critic of Hungary, faced scrutiny after reports emerged that Bensouag had received payments from the European Parliament while simultaneously being compensated by the EPP as a political functionary. Additionally, her husband, Michael Alexander Speiser, holds a directorial position at the EP’s Directorate for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs, with senior officials describing his appointment as ‘close to nepotism’.
Corruption in the Highest Ranks
Meanwhile, the European Commission has not remained free of scandals either. In late 2024 Belgian federal police raided properties linked to former Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders over suspicions of money laundering. Reports allege that Reynders used the Belgian National Lottery—an organization he oversaw as finance minister between 2007 and 2011—to purchase lottery tickets and deposit the winnings into his personal account. The European Commission denied any prior knowledge of Reynders’s alleged wrongdoing and pledged full cooperation with authorities.
As the saying goes, ‘the fish rots from the head’. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also been implicated in a massive scandal involving vaccine procurement. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission signed a €35 billion contract with pharmaceutical company BioNTech/Pfizer for the immediate delivery of 900 million vaccine doses, with an option to purchase an additional 900 million.
Now, with the pandemic largely behind us, much of this supply remains unused, sitting in warehouses. Meanwhile, the EU has been desperately trying to negotiate concessions from Pfizer to halt further shipments, though with little success.
Von der Leyen played an unusually direct role in these negotiations, reportedly exchanging multiple text messages with Pfizer’s CEO. When The New York Times attempted to investigate the matter, the Commission refused to disclose the content of the messages, leading the newspaper to file a lawsuit against the EU executive in February 2023.
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