The Public Prosecutor of Belgium has withdrawn the request for removal of parliamentary immunity for the MEP of Forza Italia Gius Princi. Yesterday his name had been announced by the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, among those for which the Belgian judges made the request within the investigations in relation to the Huaweigate, the scandal on the alleged corruption of politicians to encourage the Chinese giant.
In addition to her, two other forzists, Salvatore De Meo, Fulvio Martusciello and then the socialist Maltese, Daniel Attard, and the liberal Bulgarian, Nikola Minchev, ended up in the sights of the investigators. Princi had immediately proclaimed his innocence, claiming he was the victim of an exchange of person, and that he had been suspected of having participated in a suspicious meeting in Brussels when he was actually in Calabria. His alibi, communicated by his lawyers to the investigators, must have convinced the judges who therefore made the front.
Princi: “raised but still shaken by the error”
“I learn with satisfaction the notification of the Belgian Prosecutor relating to the withdrawal of the request for revocation of parliamentary immunity relating to my person who arrived in less than 24 hours from my appeal to the competent authorities,” said Princi in a note.
“The investigating judge received new elements from the Federal Police who justify the pure and simple withdrawal of the aforementioned request for revocation of parliamentary immunity”, explained the deputy, who said he was “raised” for the move of the judges who “confirms my total extraneousness to the story of the so -called Huaweigate, while still remaining shaken for having been involved on the basis of objectively non -existent elements”.
The scandal
The so -called Huaweigate is the last scandal that shaken the European Parliament, bringing to light alleged episodes of corruption linked to the Chinese giant of Huawei telecommunications.
To be corrupted would have been MEPs and members of their staff in exchange for support for 5G Chinese technology within the European institutions, in particular to avoid restrictions on the participation of the company in the development of European networks.
The investigation, launched by the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office, led to 21 searches between Belgium and Portugal on 13 March, including the Huawei headquarters in Brussels, and the arrest of several people involved.
At the center of the investigation would be a network of lobbyists who, starting from 2021, would have tried to influence the decisions of the classroom by offering money, gifts and other advantages to MEP and parliamentary assistants. The accusations made include active corruption, falsification of documents, money laundering and criminal organization.
