An unexpected espionage story unfolded in the center of Brussels, at the RSC Anderlecht football stadium. Belgian intelligence agencies installed a wiretap in a corporate box rented by the Chinese tech giant Huawei. As it turned out, Huawei used this VIP area for meetings with members of the European Parliament, trying to influence decisions in favor of the company. This is reported by Politico.
The wiretapping was confirmed by three sources familiar with the investigation. In addition to the lodge itself, Belgian security services also recorded conversations of one of Huawei’s top lobbyists — even in his car. The activities were part of a broader corruption investigation that began in 2021 and covers numerous episodes until the end of 2024.
Huawei rented the box for the 2024/25 season for €50,000. According to investigators, the company used it to contact politicians. At first, they invited assistants to MPs, and later - MPs themselves from different political factions. The goal was to create a friendly atmosphere for future influence.
In March 2025, law enforcement conducted more than 20 searches in Belgium and Portugal. It turned out that Huawei probably paid for people to sign an open letter in its support. Eight people have already been charged, including three Huawei employees and the director of a European conference company.
Despite everything, the Anderlecht football club claims that it was unaware of the investigation and does not plan to renew its contract with Huawei. Some MPs, including Daniel Attard from Malta and Nikola Minchev from Bulgaria, admitted that they attended matches but were unaware that Huawei had invited them. The invitations allegedly came from friends or neighbors of the assistants.
Belgian prosecutors are already asking parliament to lift the immunity of four MEPs, although none of them have yet been charged. There are growing calls in the EU to tighten ethical standards, as the line between legal lobbying and corruption, as this story shows, is extremely thin.