Belgium bugged Anderlecht football stadium to spy on Huawei MEP lobbying

BRUSSELS ― Belgian security agents bugged a corporate box at the RSC Anderlecht football stadium that was being used by Chinese tech giant Huawei to schmooze members of the European Parliament.

They also listened into other conversations involving one of Huawei’s leading lobbyists, including in his car. The surveillance operations, confirmed by three people with close knowledge of the investigation, formed part of a wide-ranging probe into allegations of corruption that was first revealed in March. They contributed to the Belgian prosecutor’s decision, reported by POLITICO on Monday, to request that a group of MEPs have their immunities lifted so they can be investigated.  

The extraordinary revelations are the latest chapter in a saga that combines concerns about the reach of China in European politics and how susceptible EU lawmakers are to bribery and shady lobbying practices, even after a string of similar scandals.

Huawei acquired a private box in Anderlecht’s Constant Vanden Stock Stadium in southwest Brussels for the 2024/25 season ― a year in which the club have played host to European giants including Fenerbahçe, Porto and Real Sociedad ― for about €50,000, according to an RSC Anderlecht spokesperson. 

According to the people with knowledge of the probe, the Belgian authorities investigated whether hiring the box at the stadium, currently known as Lotto Park, to get closer to MEPs was part of a wider scheme used by Huawei lobbyists to advance the company’s position in EU policymaking.

At the time of the original allegations, Belgian prosecutors said they were looking at potential cases of bribery comprising lawmakers being paid for taking political positions, excessive gifts, paid trips, and invitations to events. The incidents being investigated span a period from 2021 until the end of 2024.

According to the records of the conversations involving the Huawei lobbyist, the reason for the company hiring the box was to make initial contact with politicians and to try to “grease” them up, according to one of the people familiar with the investigation.

The lobbyist succeeded in bringing freshly elected MEPs to the box by first inviting their assistants. Invitations were then extended to lawmakers from a wide range of political groups, as well as former MEPs and other EU officials, two of the people close to the investigation said.

The surveillance methods used by the Belgian authorities are “quite common in such an investigation,” said a fourth person close to the probe.

Lifting immunity

Police raided more than 20 locations in Belgium and Portugal in March as part of the investigation into alleged illegal payments made by Huawei to secure an open letter signed by eight European lawmakers in support of the company’s interests, according to the Belgian prosecutor and an arrest warrant seen by POLITICO.

Five people were charged as part of the investigation, prosecutors said on March 18. In April, they said eight had been charged. Three Huawei employees and a managing director from Brussels conference organizer Forum Europe were represented in court in April for hearings. They are presumed innocent.

Anderlecht football club has  “no intention to renew” the contract with Huawei after it concludes at the end of the season, the club spokesperson said, adding that “we have had no official request from Belgian authorities” to engage in surveillance of the box or collaborate in the investigation.

Two MEPs, who are among the group that Belgian authorities requested their immunity be waived, Maltese Socialist Daniel Attard and Bulgarian liberal Nikola Minchev, admitted they attended Anderlecht matches and said in their respective statements they didn’t know they had been invited by Huawei.   

“I was not made aware that the invitation originated from any company, or that it involved a corporate box,” said Attard, who attended a match between Anderlecht and Hungarian side Ferencváros in September 2024. 

“I was simply informed by my assistant that a friend of his had tickets to the match and asked whether I would be interested in accompanying him and his son,” he said.

Minchev said his assistant told him “a friend and neighbor” had invited him to watch a match between Anderlecht and Bulgaria’s Ludogorets in October 2024.  

Belgian authorities on Wednesday requested the Parliament lift the immunities of two other MEPs, center-right Italians Fulvio Martusciello and Salvatore De Meo. A fifth request, concerning center-right Italian MEP Giusi Princi, was withdrawn.

None of the MEPs has been charged and all deny wrongdoing. A request to lift an MEP’s immunity does not imply they have broken any law. Under the Belgian legal system it’s a necessary step for the police to be able to summon them for questioning and to fully investigate.

The line between lobbying and corruption is very thin. MEPs are allowed to accept gifts but if they are worth more than €150 they must declare them.

“In spite of the Parliament’s inexcusably permissive ruleset, there is simply no legitimate reason that would explain why MEPs should be receiving gifts from lobbyists,” said Nick Aïossa, director of Transparency International EU, an NGO. “This is but another example of why the Parliament’s ethics rules are still not fit for purpose.”

The Belgian prosecutor and Huawei did not reply to requests for comment.

Antoaneta Roussi, Elisa Braun and Mathieu Pollet contributed reporting.

Correction: The caption on the inline image of this article has been corrected to reflect that MEP Daniel Attard admitted to going to one Anderlecht match.