Eight people have been charged with corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation following a probe into suspected bribery at the European Parliament, Belgium's public prosecutor said in a statement.
Friday’s charges come after Belgian prosecutors said on March 13 they had detained several individuals over suspected bribery in the European Parliament allegedly for the benefit of China's Huawei.
On March 13, Belgian investigators raided 21 premises across Belgium and in Portugal and a judge has since requested that the offices of two parliamentary assistants be sealed.
The Belgian prosecutors said the alleged corruption had taken place "very discreetly" since 2021 under the guise of commercial lobbying and involved payments for taking political positions or excessive gifts such as food and travel expenses or regular invitations to football matches.
As the US tightens access to advanced chip technology, Chinese companies are working toward long-term independence in the semiconductor sector.
Prosecutors have said the alleged bribery is said to have benefited Huawei.
Huawei has said it takes the allegations seriously and would urgently communicate with authorities to fully understand the situation. It has also said it has a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption or other wrongdoing.
The prosecutor's office said on Friday that among the eight people charged, three were being kept under electronic surveillance, two have been released and three remain under arrest.
It gave no further information.
The European Parliament has said it had received a request from Belgian authorities to assist with the investigation, and that it would swiftly and full comply with it.
The scandal involves remunerations, gifts and regular invitations to football matches, as part of a bid to promote "purely private commercial interests" in political decisions.
Chinese tech giant Huawei declared that the company has emerged from a crisis following sanctions from US, Japan and UK due to concerns of sabotage and spying.
