BRUSSELS — One of Huawei’s most senior executives in Europe is a suspect in the Belgian investigation into alleged corruption at the European Parliament benefitting the Chinese technology company, POLITICO can reveal.
The senior executive was represented in a Belgian court on Tuesday, documents relating to the hearing showed.
He is charged with “active corruption of a person holding a public office, criminal organization and money laundering,” said one of the documents, which were disclosed as part of the preparation of a hearing at Brussels’ Chamber of Accusation.
The senior executive is listed as a vice president for the Europe region at Huawei and previously held a position as chief representative to the European Union leading the firm’s public affairs office in Brussels. He can only be identified as Yong J.
Tuesday’s hearing, held behind closed doors, was part of proceedings where defense teams engage with senior judges to discuss procedural matters, including potential custody decisions.
The senior executive could not be reached for comment and his lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Huawei spokesperson also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Belgian investigators are probing whether illegal payments were made to secure political backing for an open letter supporting the Chinese company’s interests and signed off by eight members of the European Parliament, according to an arrest warrant seen by POLITICO.
The Belgian prosecutor said Friday it had charged eight people. The charges followed a series of police raids of premises in Belgium and Portugal, including Huawei’s Brussels lobbying headquarters and several European Parliament offices.
Aside from Yong J., three other Huawei employees were among the suspects in the corruption probe who first faced Belgian judges last week as part of procedural hearings, including a lobbyist and a senior executive for the firm, who can only be described as Valerio O. and Han W. They are also facing charges related to corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organization.
All suspects are presumed innocent.
Huawei fired two employees and suspended a third for their alleged involvement in the bribery investigation, a spokesperson said Monday. The spokesperson did not disclose the identities or roles of the employees affected. It is unclear whether the employees fired and suspended by Huawei are the same as the Huawei officials who were preliminarily charged.
Huawei said in a previous statement: “The company maintains a zero-tolerance stance against corruption. As always, we are fully committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations.”
Mathieu Pollet contributed reporting.