The European Parliament has voted to lift the parliamentary immunity of Italian MEP Fulvio Martusciello amid an investigation into alleged corruption and illegal lobbying involving Chinese technology company Huawei. During a secret ballot held on Tuesday, 344 MEPs supported lifting the immunity, 234 opposed, and 25 abstained. Martusciello, who belongs to the European People’s Party (EPP) group, is suspected of initiating a 2021 letter signed by eight MEPs.
This correspondence reportedly urged the European Commission to refrain from banning the use of foreign 5G equipment based on national security concerns. The Belgian investigation commenced following raids in March 2025 at Huawei’s Brussels offices and on the European Parliament grounds. Authorities suspect that MEPs and parliamentary assistants may have been bribed to influence European Union decision-making in favor of the Chinese firm.
Prosecutors allege that the alleged inducements included payments, luxury gifts, football tickets, and covered travel expenses. Furthermore, Belgian authorities have requested the lifting of immunity for several other MEPs as part of this ongoing corruption and money laundering probe related to Huawei. Huawei has publicly stated that it takes the allegations seriously and maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding corruption.
In response, the European Parliament has suspended access for the company’s representatives and confirmed its cooperation with the investigating authorities.
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It shows that even high-level political immunity is not absolute when serious allegations of corruption are involved.