Huawei’s lobbying lands it in a bribery scandal with EU politicians

Huawei is at the center of a fresh scandal in Europe, following reports that lobbyists representing the Chinese tech titan bribed members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to curry favor with lawmakers.

After being cast out of the U.S. market over fears that its telecommunications equipment could be infiltrated by the Chinese government for nefarious purposes, it seems Huawei feared similar actions in Europe. Several countries in the bloc are currently phasing out Huawei equipment (though the pace of action has been criticized).

According to a report by Follow the Money (FTM), an investigative news outfit based in the Netherlands, Belgian police this morning raided 21 addresses across Belgium and Portugal as part of an ongoing corruption investigation. The addresses included Huawei’s European offices and homes associated with lobbyists linked to the company.

Codenamed “Generation,” FTM reports that the probe has been going on for more than two years, and is focused on allegations that Huawei lobbyists paid MEPs in exchange for gaining their support in Parliament. Some 15 current and former MEPs are on investigators’ radar, according to the report, with “suspicions of bribery, forgery, money laundering and criminal organisation” at the center.

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