Huawei at centre of EU corruption probe as Malta drops Safe City project

Chinese tech giant Huawei is under fresh scrutiny as Belgian authorities investigate allegations of corruption linked to its lobbying efforts in the European Parliament.

The investigative news portal Follow the Money and its media partners Le Soir and Knack reported that Belgian police have conducted a series of raids on Huawei’s EU offices and the homes of its lobbyists in Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia, and Portugal, as part of an investigation into bribery, forgery, money laundering, and criminal organisation.

The probe, codenamed ‘Operation Generation’, suggests that Huawei lobbyists may have offered bribes to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in exchange for political support. Around 15 former and current MEPs are reportedly under investigation.

Huawei was a source of controversy in Malta under disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat. The Maltese government announced last year it would dissolve the state-owned company, Safe City, created to implement the scheme, which had initially planned to introduce facial recognition CCTV surveillance in “problem areas” such as Paceville and Marsa.

The raids in Europe come two years after Belgian authorities launched a covert investigation following a tip-off from the country’s secret service.

While no searches have taken place at the European Parliament, evidence gathered so far indicates that Huawei representatives may have provided expensive football tickets, luxury trips to China, and even direct cash payments to secure their interests.

Payments to one or more lawmakers are believed to have been routed through a Portuguese company.

The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to the team of reporters that several individuals have been questioned about their suspected involvement in corruption within the European Parliament.

Authorities are investigating suspected offences including bribery, criminal organisation, and money laundering, but have yet to request the lifting of immunity for any sitting MEPs. Huawei has not issued any comments on the raids.

Huawei’s Malta links: The Safe City controversy

The corruption investigation into Huawei has reignited concerns about the company’s past involvement in Malta’s controversial Safe City project.

Safe City Malta was a company established under disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s administration in collaboration with Huawei.

The project was heavily criticised by privacy experts, including Prof Joseph Cannataci, a United Nations special rapporteur for privacy, who warned that such surveillance technology required strong legal justification, such as a demonstrable risk of terrorism.

Despite these concerns, Safe City Malta was allocated an annual budget of €400,000. Despite clear indications that the project would be shut down, the tourism ministry appointed board members to serve until June 2023.

The agreement with Huawei has since expired and will not be renewed, the government said.

While Huawei initially promoted the Safe City concept as a means to enhance security through facial recognition, Safe City’s former director, Joseph Cuschieri, later clarified that the company would instead use ‘advanced video surveillance’ (AVS) due to serious privacy concerns.

AVS technology detects unusual activity and alerts law enforcement, without directly identifying individuals through facial recognition.

Cuschieri, the disgraced former MFSA CEO has since moved on to new pastures as Project Green’s CEO, appointed by Minister Miriam Dalli.

Privacy and geopolitical concerns

Huawei’s involvement in Malta’s Safe City project raised broader concerns about the potential misuse of surveillance data. Chinese technology firms, including Huawei and ZTE, have previously been linked to providing surveillance infrastructure in countries with authoritarian regimes.

In Ethiopia, for example, ZTE supplied the government with tools to monitor citizens’ communications, while in Zimbabwe, CloudWalk Technology partnered with the government to establish a large-scale facial recognition program.

In 2019, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber and International Affairs, Robert Strayer, warned that data collected by Chinese companies could be exploited for authoritarian purposes. He highlighted the dangers of such technology being used to track individuals, assign social credit scores, and restrict freedoms—practices already deployed within China’s borders.

The Belgian corruption probe into Huawei’s lobbying practices underscores the ongoing debate over the risks associated with Chinese technology firms operating in Europe.