Brussels corruption affair surrounding Huawei: it's all about a letter Kommentare
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Belgian prosecutors are investigating whether Huawei made illegal payments for a letter defending its own interests in the expansion of 5G.
The ongoing Belgian corruption investigation against Huawei lobbyists and members of parliament [1] as well as their employees is primarily concerned with an explosive letter on the deployment of 5G technology in the EU. This was reported by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica with reference to an arrest warrant.
Letter of instruction to the EU Commission?
Eight EU parliamentarians sent the letter in February 2021 to the three then Commissioners Margrethe Vestager, Valdis Dombrovskis and Thierry Breton, arguing that geopolitical tensions should not hinder the development of 5G in Europe. Huawei is not mentioned in the letter, but the thrust is clear.
Italian MP Fulvio Martusciello (Forza Italia) published the lobby letter as one of the signatories on Twitter on February 15, 2021. Martusciello has since deleted the tweet, but it has been archived [2].
"Unfortunately, some Member States have banned or intend to ban the use of foreign 5G equipment," reads the letter, in which the MEPs warn against "protectionist" debates and speak of "unfounded fears of risks to national security".
Martusciello's former parliamentary aide and an assistant were both arrested in connection with the Huawei investigation, according to their lawyers. Belgian police sealed two offices of parliamentary assistants in mid-March. According to the public prosecutor's office, search teams searched a total of 21 addresses in Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia and Portugal and provisionally arrested several people.
15,000 euros for the author
According to Repubblica, [3] the submission to the investigating judge reads: "The author of the 5G letter was offered a sum of 15,000 euros", with co-signatories being offered 1,500 euros. Such transactions are said to have been approved in principle by Chinese Huawei executives.
Investigators suspect that the transfers are also "linked to the drafting of legal amendments [4] favorable to Huawei" by Martusciello. He told the newspaper Le Soir [5] that he had never received any money or other benefits from Huawei.
Lawyers for the former adviser and assistant denied any involvement in the charges to Politico [6]. Several of the current and former members of parliament whose names appear below the letter tried to distance themselves from the letter to Politico.
After EU bodies, [7] industry associations such as DigitalEurope have also excluded Huawei lobbyists. However, the organization LobbyControl complains [8] that EU think tanks such as Bruegel, the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and the Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE) continue to maintain contacts with the company.
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This article was originally published in German [14]. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.
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Links in diesem Artikel:
[1] https://www.heise.de/news/Europaparlament-unter-Huawei-Korruptionsverdacht-10315097.html?from-en=1
[2] https://web.archive.org/web/20210215222238/https://twitter.com/fulviomartuscie/status/1361440770172059652
[3] https://napoli.repubblica.it/cronaca/2025/03/25/news/caso_huawei_quella_segnalazione_archiviata_dall_antifrode_europea-424083746
[4] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/ECON-AM-680910_EN.pdf
[5] https://www.lesoir.be/662605/article/2025-03-19/deux-eurodeputes-suspectes-davoir-gonfle-leurs-indemnites
[6] https://www.politico.eu/article/belgian-prosecutors-huawei-corruption-illegal-payments-letter
[7] https://www.heise.de/news/Korruptionsermittlungen-EU-Parlament-verbannt-Huawei-Lobbyisten-vorlaeufig-10317035.html?from-en=1
[8] https://www.lobbycontrol.de/lobbyismus-in-der-eu/huawei-gate-neuer-korruptionsskandal-erschuettert-das-eu-parlament-120196
[9] https://www.heise.de/foto
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[14] https://www.heise.de/news/Bruesseler-Korruptionsaffaere-um-Huawei-Es-geht-um-einen-Brief-10330194.html
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