Belgian authorities have officially requested that the European Parliament lift the immunity of several Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in connection with an ongoing corruption investigation linked to Chinese technology giant Huawei. The request, submitted roughly two months after the first reports surfaced, aims to allow legal action to proceed against those suspected of involvement in a bribery scheme.

According to four EU officials who spoke to Politico, five MEPs are reportedly included in the request. They span across the political spectrum—three are from the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), one from the Socialist group, and one from Renew Europe. While the full list of names has yet to be officially confirmed, two MEPs - Maltese Socialist Daniel Attard and Bulgarian Renew Europe member Nikola Minchev - have publicly acknowledged that they are under investigation.

Parliament President Roberta Metsola is expected to formally announce the list of names during the opening of the plenary session on May 21. In the meantime, the Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee will begin considering the immunity requests. Depending on the urgency and political sensitivity of the cases, the process could last a few weeks or stretch to as long as a year.

Sources have also confirmed that the investigation extends beyond the MEPs themselves. Some European Parliament staffers are reportedly being investigated as well. In mid-March, Belgian police raided the office of Adam Mukhtar, an aide to Nikola Minchev. The visit appears to be connected to the broader inquiry into undue influence by Huawei in European policymaking.

Minchev, a former speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament and current MEP from the "We Continue the Change" party, has confirmed to Bulgarian media that he is being probed after attending a football match at the Anderlecht stadium in Brussels in Huawei’s VIP box. "My presence at this event is now a reason for the authorities to want to investigate whether there was anything wrong,” he said, denying any misconduct and pledging full cooperation with the authorities.

Daniel Attard, the Maltese MEP also caught up in the scandal, wrote on social media that the football match he attended in the Huawei box is at the heart of his involvement. He claimed he was unaware the invitation came from a corporate entity and only later discovered that it originated from someone currently under investigation, who had intended to speak to him about Huawei during the game. He added that following a later meeting with Huawei representatives at the Parliament, he never engaged further with the company.

The Belgian authorities are also probing whether seven MEPs were paid to sign a 2021 letter sent to three EU commissioners. The letter advocated for maintaining cooperation with Huawei on 5G development, despite rising geopolitical tensions. Whether those lawmakers are among the five targeted for immunity lifting remains unclear.

In total, Belgian prosecutors have charged at least eight individuals, including a senior Huawei executive in Europe. The charges range from active corruption and money laundering to involvement in a criminal organization. These charges follow a series of raids conducted across Belgium, France, and Portugal.

One of the charged individuals is a parliamentary assistant to an MEP. However, an Italian court recently rejected a European arrest warrant against her, refusing to extradite her to Belgium.

It is important to note that a request to lift parliamentary immunity does not imply guilt. It is a procedural step that allows law enforcement to conduct formal questioning and investigate further. The Belgian prosecutor’s office has declined to comment, and a spokesperson for the European Parliament reiterated that such requests only become public once they are officially announced in plenary.