The European Parliament on Friday banned lobbyists representing Huawei from its premises following the arrests of several people in a corruption investigation linked to the Chinese company.
Belgian prosecutors suspect Huawei of bribing members of the European Parliament.
The European Parliament announced on Friday that the decision to suspend access for Huawei lobbyists was taken as a preventive measure in line with established security standards.
Thursday's arrests follow an investigation by Le Soir and other media outlets that found lobbyists working for the Chinese telecoms giant were suspected of bribing current or former MEPs to advance the company's commercial interests in Europe.
Around 100 federal police officers carried out 21 searches in Brussels, as well as in the Flanders and Wallonia regions and in Portugal.
The investigating judge handling the case also ordered the sealing of offices in the European Parliament building allocated to two parliamentary assistants believed to be linked to the case.
Huawei said on Thursday that it takes the allegations seriously and that it will “promptly contact” investigators.
Huawei, a mobile phone maker and the world's largest maker of networking equipment for telecom and internet operators, has found itself at the center of tensions between the U.S. and China over technology and trade.
Some European countries, following Washington's lead, have banned Huawei equipment from being used in 5G networks over accusations that it poses a security risk and could facilitate Chinese spying.
The company has repeatedly denied the allegations.
The prosecutor's office said it believed the corrupt activity began in 2021.
This is the second corruption case in the European Parliament in less than three years.
In December 2022, the legislature found itself at the centre of a corruption scandal in which Qatari officials were accused of bribing European officials to allay concerns over workers' rights ahead of the World Cup.
The scandal has seriously damaged the reputation of the only EU institution made up of officials directly elected by the 27 member states.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
