Belgian authorities probing Huawei bribery want to question Labour MEP over football match invite

The Belgian authorities have asked the European Parliament to lift the immunity of Labour MEP Daniel Attard in relation to a bribery investigation involving Chinese technology company Huawei.

Attard's apparent involvement concerns a football match he was invited to attend in Belgium last September.

In a statement on Monday, Attard revealed that he was informed by the administration of the European Parliament that his name was mentioned in an investigation and a request was made by the Belgian authorities for the lifting of his parliamentary immunity.

He denied any wrongdoing and said that he wrote to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, to formally request that the parliament waive his immunity.

“While I firmly reject any implication of wrongdoing, I am fully committed to cooperating with the competent authorities and to ensuring that all facts are properly and transparently established,” Attard wrote in his letter.

He informed Metsola that he had already contacted the Belgian authorities to express his willingness to provide “a full statement and to respond to any questions they may have”.

“In the same spirit, I respectfully request that the European Parliament proceed with the immediate waiver of my immunity so that the national authorities may carry out their work without impediment,” Attard said.

According to procedure, Metsola would be required to raise the matter in the first plenary session, expected to take place on Wednesday. However, the decision whether to waive immunity is taken by a parliamentary committee.

Read the letter Daniel Attard sent to Roberta Metsola below:

Football match invite and corporate box

The Belgian prosecutors' investigation centres around Attard’s attendance of the football match between Belgian team Anderlecht and Hungarian football club Ferencváros that took place last September.

According to Attard, the invitation to attend the match came through his Hungarian parliamentary assistant. “He asked whether I would like to join him and his son at what was meant to be a private and informal event to watch a Hungarian team play in Belgium,” the Labour MEP said.

It transpired that the tickets were for a corporate box and the invitation came from a person who is under investigation by the Belgian authorities. Attard did not name this individual in his statement but acknowledged that the person intended to speak to him about Huawei during the match.

Attard insisted he was unaware of this when accepting the invitation from his parliamentary assistant.

“I was not made aware that the invitation originated from any company, or that it involved a corporate box,” Attard said. “I had no prior knowledge of this, nor had I had any prior contact with that individual.”

Strasbourg meeting

The Labour MEP said the topic was “briefly raised” during the game, and a meeting was subsequently requested, which took place two weeks later in Strasbourg.

“Before this meeting, I instructed my assistants to ensure that all arrangements were fully transparent and in line with the rules of the European Parliament. I only agreed to the meeting once I received confirmation that this was the case,” Attard said.

He insisted that after the meeting, he had no further communication and took no action whatsoever in relation to Huawei or any matters related to the company.

Attard said that after attending the match, he asked the assistant involved to determine the value of the ticket and to declare it in accordance with the rules of the European Parliament. “He informed and assured me that the value did not exceed €150—the threshold set by the parliament’s rules—and therefore, no declaration was required,” Attard added.

Apart from requesting that his immunity be lifted, Attard said he will be consulting with the leadership of the S&D Group regarding any steps that may be required until this process is concluded.

Corruption charges

Belgium's public prosecutor last month charged eight people with corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation following an investigation into suspected bribery at the European Parliament.

The charges were filed after Belgian prosecutors had detained several individuals during raids conducted in Belgium and Portugal in March. The bribery allegedly occurred for the benefit of Huawei and a judge had also ordered the offices of two parliamentary assistants be sealed.

The alleged corruption had been going on since 2021 under the guise of commercial lobbying, according to the Belgian prosecutors. It involved payments for taking political stands, or excessive gifts such as food, travel expenses and regular invitations to football matches.

This is the first time that Attard's name has cropped up in the investigation. Sources in Brussels have told MaltaToday that requests by national authorities to waive parliamentary immunity are normally made when prosecutors have enough evidence in hand to warrant an individual's interrogation under caution or even prosecution.