Reports on Friday reveal that Belgian police secretly monitored a corporate box used by Chinese tech behemoth Huawei at the Anderlecht football stadium. The Belgian police probe into the purported bribery of European Parliament Members by the corporation centers on the corporate box.
Maltese Labour MEP Daniel Attard announced earlier this week he asked the European Parliament to lift his immunity after being notified that he is the subject of a bribery investigation by the Belgian authorities. He has denied any misdeed and stated he would work with police.
On Friday, Politico said Belgian officials even listened into other talks including one of Huawei’s top lobbyists, including in his vehicle. The newspaper claims that the pieces of information gleaned from the talks assisted in putting the inquiry together.
For the 2024/25 season, Huawei secured a private box at Constant Vanden Stock Stadium in Anderlecht, southwest Brussels, where the team has hosted European behemoths like Fenerbahçe, Porto, and Real Sociedad. An RSC Anderlecht spokesman said the corporate box was rented for roughly €50,000.
According to discussions captured by the Belgian authorities, the company hiring the box intended to make first contact with politicians and attempt to “grease” them up, Politico reported quoting a source close to the inquiry.
The lobbyist first invited the aides, then was able to get newly elected MEPs to the box. Two of the individuals close to the inquiry said that lawmakers from various political parties, former MEPs, and other EU officials were then invited.
Another source claimed that the techniques employed by the Belgian officials in conducting the monitoring are “rather frequent in such an inquiry.”
Reached by contact, Anderlecht football club stated they had no plan to extend Huawei’s contract once it ends at the end of the season. To participate in the inquiry or monitor the box, they added “we have had no official request from Belgian authorities.”
Malta link
Daniel Attard claims the request to come to the game came via his Hungarian parliament assistant. The Labour MEP reported, “He inquired if I would want to join him and his son at what was intended to be a private and casual gathering to watch a Hungarian team play in Belgium.”
The tickets turned out to be for a corporate box, and the invitation came from someone under inquiry by the Belgian authorities. In his statement, Attard did not identify this person, but he noted the individual planned to discuss Huawei with him during the game.
Attard claimed he was ignorant of this when he accepted an invitation from his parliamentary aide.
Attard claimed, “I was not aware the invitation came from any company or included a corporate box.” I had not previous contact with that individual, nor had I learned anything about this.
Charges of corruption
Following an inquiry into alleged corruption at the European Parliament, Belgium’s public prosecutor last month accused eight persons of bribery, money laundering, and involvement in a criminal organization.
Charges were filed following Belgian authorities’ arrest of multiple people during March raids held in Portugal and Belgium. A judge had also ordered the offices of two parliamentary aides sealed; the bribery allegedly benefited Huawei.
Belgian prosecutors claim that the purported bribery under cover of business lobbying began in 2021. It included payments for taking political positions, or exorbitant gifts like food, travel costs, and constant football match invitations.
