Four people have been arrested as part of an investigation into corruption and money laundering centred on a Gulf state’s attempt to buy influence at the European parliament, Belgian prosecutors have said.
Belgian police seized €600,000 (£515,000) in cash, computers and mobile phones after searches at 16 properties across Brussels on Friday morning, according to a statement from Belgium’s federal prosecutor. It said the searches were part of a major investigation into alleged criminal organisation, corruption and money laundering.
The four suspects, who have not been officially named and were born in 1955, 1969, 1971 and 1987, will be questioned and could appear before an investigating judge, the prosecutor’s office said.
Police investigators have suspected for several months that a Gulf country has sought to influence decisions at the European parliament through “paying large sums of money or offering large gifts” to people with “a significant political and/or strategic position”, according to the statement from the federal prosecutor.
Qatar, the gas and oil-rich state currently hosting the World Cup, was named by Belgium’s Le Soir and Knack as the country that had offered large sums of money and gifts in an attempt to shape decisions at the European parliament. All the suspects are Italian nationals and were said to be active in a human rights NGO, Belgian media reported.
The police operation was targeted at MEPs’ assistants, who can play a crucial role in shaping legislation and acting as a gatekeeper for elected members of parliament. The homes of four assistants close to the socialist group and one employed by the centre-right European People’s party were among those searched according to Belgian media.
The searches were carried out across five Brussels communes (boroughs), including the large city centre district, according to prosecutors. European parliament officials would neither confirm nor deny if the parliament’s premises had been searched, although its postcode suggests it was not on the list.
In a statement, the European parliament said it did not comment on judicial proceedings, adding: “As always, the European parliament fully cooperates with the national authorities in charge. The same in this specific case.”
If confirmed, it would be the most significant case of corruption affecting the European parliament in recent history.
Recent corruption allegations have instead hit the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly, a body that is separate to the EU. In 2018, an internal inquiry by the Strasbourg assembly concluded there was “a strong suspicion” that current and former members had “engaged in activity of a corruptive nature”, by altering reports on Azerbaijan in favour of the authoritarian regime and failing to follow the rules in declaring gifts.
