European Parliament lifts immunity of Italian MEP under investigation for corruption

The European Parliament has voted to lift the parliamentary immunity of Italian MEP Fulvio Martusciello, who is under investigation by Belgian prosecutors in an alleged corruption and illegal lobbying scandal linked to Chinese technology giant Huawei. In a secret ballot held on Tuesday, 344 MEPs voted in favor of lifting his immunity, 234 voted against, while 25 abstained, euronews writes. Martusciello, a member of the European People’s Party (EPP) political group, is suspected of having initiated a letter signed by eight MEPs in 2021, which urged the European Commission not to ban the use of foreign 5G equipment on national security grounds. The Belgian investigation began after raids in March 2025 at Huawei’s offices in Brussels and on the premises of the European Parliament. Authorities suspect that MEPs and parliamentary assistants were bribed to influence European Union decision-making in favor of the Chinese company. According to prosecutors, the alleged benefits included payments, luxury gifts, tickets to football matches and the coverage of travel expenses. Earlier, Belgian authorities had also requested the lifting of the immunity of several other MEPs as part of the same corruption and money laundering investigation related to Huawei. Huawei has stated that it takes the allegations seriously and that it implements a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption, while the European Parliament has suspended access to the company’s representatives in the institution and is cooperating with investigators. /Telegraph