Labour MEP Daniel Attard named in Belgian bribery probe, vows to clear name

Updated 7.45pm with PN reaction

Labour MEP Daniel Attard has been named in an investigation by Belgian police over his meeting a Huawei lobbyist at a football match last year, with investigators asking for his parliamentary immunity to be lifted.

Last month, investigators raided several offices across Europe as part of an investigation into alleged misconduct by lobbyists working for the Chinese tech giant.

Attard’s name cropped up when investigators found that he had attended a football match in the presence of a lobbyist who is under investigation.

Belgian police have since asked for Attard’s parliamentary immunity to be lifted.

In a statement issued on Monday afternooon, Attard said that he he had written to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola “to personally request the immediate waiver of my Parliamentary immunity,” which would allow investigators to “carry out any verifications without impediment”.

He said he had also requested to be heard by investigators to give his account of the events and will be consulting the S&D group “regarding any steps that may be required until this process, in which I have no involvement, is concluded”.

Attard ‘not made aware’ that invitation came from a company

The case refers to Attard’s attendance at a Europa League match between Belgian club Anderlecht and Hungarian club Ferencváros played on 25 September.

In his statement, Attard said he had attended the match on the invitation of his Hungarian parliamentary assistant, not knowing that lobbyists would be present.

“I was not made aware that the invitation originated from any company, or that it involved a corporate box,” Attard said. “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.”

After attending the match, Attard said, it emerged that “the invitation came from a person who is currently under investigation by the Belgian authorities and who intended to speak to me about Huawei during the match.”

“I had no prior knowledge of this, nor had I had any prior contact with that individual.”

Attard said that the topic of Huawei was “briefly raised” during the match, with the lobbyist requesting a meeting which took place two weeks later, after Attard had confirmed with his assistants that the arrangements were “fully transparent and in line with the rules of the European Parliament.”

“Following that meeting, I had no further communication and took no action whatsoever in relation to Huawei or any matters related to the company,” Attard said.

He added that after the match, he had confirmed that there was no need to declare the match ticket, as it fell below the €150 threshold set by the European Parliament’s rules.

Huawei suspected to have bribed 15 MEPs

Huawei has long been under the spotlight, with Belgian investigators putting the company on its watchlist back in 2023 over concerns of Chinese espionage into European institutions.

But the investigation kicked into gear last month, with Belgian investigators suspecting Huawei of having bribed as many as 15 current or former MEPs.

Belgian media has reported that investigators believe lobbyists would offer MEPs gifts, including Huawei smartphones and tickets to Huawei’s private box at the Anderlecht football stadium, in exchange for favourable political positions.

'No corruption allegations whatsoever against Attard': OPM

When contacted, the Office of the Prime Minister said Attard made it "absolutely clear" that he has nothing to hide.

OPM stressed there are "no corruption allegations whatsoever" against Attard.  

In a statement sent to Times of Malta, OPM noted Attard's willingness and initiative to speak to the Belgian authorities and allow investigations to take their due course. 

Meanwhile, in a short statement, the Socialist and Democrats (S&D) party, of which Attard is a member, said: "We reaffirm our respect for the judicial proceedings, and for this reason, we do not comment on ongoing judicial investigations. We will follow the procedure in accordance with the internal rules of the group and those of the European Parliament."

In a statement, the Nationalist Party said Attard is already trying to “shift the blame” onto his assistant, as he continues to defend himself. 

The PN said Abela “must urgently declare what action he intends to take against Attard".