Belgian prosecutors probe whether Huawei paid for letter signed by 8 MEPs

Belgian prosecutors are investigating whether Huawei made illegal payments to get an open letter written, signed by eight European parliamentarians, which defended the Chinese tech giant's interests, according to judicial documents seen by POLITICO.

Belgian authorities this month raided 21 homes as part of a spiraling probe into “active corruption in the European Parliament” that “benefitted Huawei.” Investigators are looking into "excessive gifts" or “remuneration for taking political positions” that took place “from 2021 to the present day,” the prosecutors said.

In a second major test of accountability for the European Parliament after the Qatargate scandal of 2022, four people have been charged with corruption and criminal organization and one with money laundering, the Belgian prosecutors' office said last week.

According to an arrest warrant seen by POLITICO, first reported on by Italian daily La Repubblica, a key part of the investigation hinges on a letter sent by eight MEPs in February 2021 to three EU commissioners, in which they argue geopolitical tensions should not hinder the development of 5G equipment in Europe.

That letter, although it does not mention Huawei by name, is seen as promoting the Chinese company's interests because it came as several EU governments were rolling out measures that sought to limit telecom operators’ use of Chinese equipment, arguing Beijing posed risks because of espionage, surveillance and potential economic dependency.

Conservative Italian lawmaker Fulvio Martusciello, one of the signatories, posted the pro-Huawei letter on X on Feb. 15, 2021, but later deleted it. His former parliamentary adviser and his assistant have now both been arrested in relation to the Huawei probe, according to their lawyers. The assistant's contract has now been suspended.

Cash for a letter

The arrest warrant for Martusciello's assistant includes details from the Belgian prosecutors laying out the heart of the case, in which both she and his former adviser are alleged to have helped arrange payments for the letter, referred to as the "5G" letter in the judicial documents.

The description of the Belgian probe, as provided by the investigative judge in charge of the case, says: "A sum of €15,000 was offered to the writer of the 5G letter, while each co-signatory was offered €1,500."

“This transaction or proposed transaction is said to have been endorsed by HUAWEI's Chinese executives, in particular by .... [the] director of the Brussels office,” the document also reads. The director can only be identified as Abraham L.

Moving on to bank details of what it describes as "suspicious payments," the document sets out how the former adviser allegedly arranged for the payments via invoices "in consideration of alleged consultancy services and campaign expenses, in the amounts of  €18,450 and €27,500."

"Assuming the facts are established, these amounts would represent the alleged compensation for the above-mentioned letter drafted by eight MEPs for the attention of three European Commissioners in favor of HUAWEI," the document continues. "The investigation has brought to light the financial circuit of remunerations which would demonstrate the corruptive process."

As part of a series of bank transfers, the former adviser wired €6,700 to Martusciello, €1,000 to his assistant, and €14,800 to another parliamentary assistant, the warrant says. Several account holders that received payments remain unknown.

When contacted by POLITICO, Belgian prosecutors declined to comment on an ongoing investigation.

Martusciello did not respond to requests for comment about the bank transfers.

Asked about Abraham L.'s alleged involvement in a bribery scheme, Huawei did not respond to a request for comment. A company spokesperson said in an earlier statement: “Huawei takes these allegations seriously and will urgently communicate with the investigation to further understand the situation. Huawei has a zero tolerance policy towards corruption or other wrongdoing, and we are committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations at all times.”

Arrests and allegations

Martusciello's current assistant was arrested in Italy last week as part of the Huawei probe.

She "was not involved in the political activities of Mr Martusciello, she only dealt with logistics," her lawyer Antimo Giaccio told POLITICO, adding she "was very rarely at the European Parliament ... about 10 times." Before an Italian judge on Tuesday, she rejected all the preliminary charges against her but said she stood ready to answer "any questions from the Belgian authorities," her lawyer added.

The former parliamentary adviser for Martusciello, who worked for him between 2015 and 2019, was also arrested in Paris last Thursday as part of the Huawei probe, his lawyer Benoît Martinez told POLITICO. “My client intends to fully cooperate with the Belgian authorities. He denies any involvement with the charges he’s suspected of,” he added. He declined to comment further on the charges related to his client.

The Belgian secret services, which filed a declassified report that triggered the investigation, found digital evidence that the former adviser could have been involved in the drafting of the 2021 letter with one of Huawei's lobbyists, who can only be identified as Valerio O., the arrest warrant says.

Valerio O.'s lawyer Denis Bosquet declined to comment.

The investigators say the transfers can also "be linked to the drafting by MEP Fulvio Martusciello of legislative amendments favorable to Huawei," and to a communication in which Valerio O. tells an employee of Huawei in Poland "that they [Huawei] 'often cross the line and even pay for amendments.'"

The same month as promoting the letter, February 2021, Martusciello submitted amendments to a European parliamentary report that would favor Huawei's position in Europe.

Martusciello did not reply to multiple requests for comment about the letter, but told POLITICO he didn’t know the charges against his assistant. He told Belgian newspaper Le Soir that he had never received anything from Huawei. “I've never been to China, I've never been to the stadium, I've never received a cell phone or any other gift,” he said.

NGO Transparency International received an anonymous tip in connection to the 2021 letter and forwarded the tip to the EU's OLAF anti-fraud office, it said. The then-director of the civil rights group Michiel van Hulten this month posted on Bluesky that OLAF had dismissed the claims because of “insufficient suspicions” of wrongdoing. A spokesperson for OLAF confirmed it did not investigate the matter. 

Keeping a distance

It remains unclear whether any of the co-signatories of the 2021 letter are being investigated by Belgian authorities as part of the Huawei corruption probe, but several of those current and former members of the European Parliament are now taking pains to distance themselves from it.

POLITICO asked all of them about their involvement. Those who responded said they had not been contacted by authorities with regard to the letter.

Italian conservative lawmaker Herbert Dorfmann insisted the text was Martusciello’s idea and said he would not have signed the letter had he known it was related to the Chinese firm. "I have always been politically in favor of keeping Huawei out of the European market," he told POLITICO. He added neither he nor his team were offered money "or any other form of compensation in exchange for [his] signature."

Former MEP Cristian-Silviu Bușoi, a Romanian conservative, stated he never consented to signing. “I looked through my official email and found no correspondence regarding this letter,” he said in a written statement. “I also do not recall giving verbal consent to Mr Martusciello, as is sometimes customary when colleagues seek support for their initiatives,” he also said, adding that neither he or his staff received any compensation nor were aware of any scheme related to the signature of the letter.

Aldo Patriciello, a far-right Italian MEP, said in an email: "I honestly struggle to remember whether the request for my signature came via email, phone call or WhatsApp." He added that he had no direct or indirect relationship with Huawei or its lobbyists.

Romanian conservative Daniel Buda, also a signatory, attributed his involvement to his team, stating he was informed through a briefing prepared by his office staff. “My support was solely driven by concerns about rural digital infrastructure, not influenced by external parties,” he said in an email. He added he had not been contacted by any investigative authority regarding the letter and that neither he or his team received any money in exchange for his signature. “I had no knowledge — neither then nor now — that behind this letter or activity there could be such a scheme,” he told POLITICO in a written statement.

Former Italian social-democrat member Giuseppe Ferrandino said: “I am certain I never signed any letters of such kind" and added he had never been contacted by any authorities regarding this topic. "Nobody ever offered me money to influence my parliamentary activity,” he added.

Other signatories included hard-right Italian lawmaker Giuseppe Milazzo and former Romanian social-democrat member Tudor Ciuhodaru, neither of whom responded to POLITICO’s requests for comment. Milazzo told Italian news agency ANSA that he had never had meetings related to the investigation into the Huawei case: "I have never been offered and I have never accepted any money, gifts or any kind of favor, directly or indirectly, from [Huawei]," he said.

According to conversations with three former Huawei officials, the 2021 letter posted by Martusciello was meant to counter another open letter from October 2020 in which over 40 lawmakers urged the European Commission to impose stricter controls over the use of Chinese equipment in Europe. 

In a letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on Wednesday, 28 members of the chamber urged the institution to “temporarily set aside any MEPs, credibly suspected of involvement, from any parliamentary activity relating to Chinese interests.” 

Aitor Hernández-Morales, Antoaneta Roussi and Paula Andrés Richart contributed reporting.