Belgian justice orders searches in the European Parliament due to Russia’s alleged interference network

This Wednesday, Belgian justice ordered a series of registrations at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg in the framework of an investigation into an alleged Russian interference network, which was dedicated to bribing far-right MEPs to spread Kremlin propaganda through the Czech website Voice of Europe.

Specifically, the Brussels judicial police have carried out searches at the residence of an employee of the European Parliament in the Belgian capital, as well as in his office at the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels. At the same time, at the request of the Belgian investigating judge, the French judicial authorities have supervised another search in the office of this employee at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, as reported by the federal prosecutor’s office in a statement.

“When requested, The European Parliament cooperates fully with the police and judicial authorities to contribute to the course of justice and will continue to do so. It is in this context that access to an office was provided,” said the press service of the European Parliament.

[Cae la ‘Voz de Europa’, una web checa que Rusia usaba para “comprar políticos europeos”]

Neither the Belgian prosecutor’s office nor the European Parliament have revealed the identity of the person whose offices and home have been searched. The Belgian press assures that it is Guillaume Pradoura, former parliamentary assistant to Alternative for Germany MEP (AfD) Maximilian Krah. In the last stage, the person under investigation has been an assistant to MEP Marcel de Graaff, a member of the Forum for Democracy, a Dutch eurosceptic and conservative party.

“These records are part of a case of interference, of passive corruption and of membership in a criminal organization“says the Belgian prosecutor’s office in its statement.

“They are related to indications of Russian interference, according to which Members of the European Parliament were allegedly contacted and paid to promote Russian propaganda via ‘information website’ Voice of Europe“the statement continues.

“There are indications that the European Parliament collaborator in question has played an important role in this matter,” concludes the brief statement from the prosecutor’s office. The existence of this network of Russian interference was denounced by the Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, and by his Belgian counterpart, Alexander de Croo, who was the one who revealed that the prosecutor’s office had opened an investigation.

Precisely, the EU has just included Voice of Europe on its sanctions blacklist and has ordered its disconnection. This means “has participated in a systematic international campaign of media manipulation and distortion of facts in order to destabilize Ukraine, the EU and its Member States”.

“Besides, Voice of Europe operates a website – with accounts promoting this medium on social networks such as Facebook, YouTube, Telegram and according to the report of the sanctioning file approved by the 27.

Finally, Voice of Europe has been used as a “vehicle for channeling financial resources destined for the remuneration of propagandists and the creation of a network that influences representatives of political parties in Europe”.

In the latest report from the European Parliament on Russian interference It is claimed that since August 2023, a total of 16 far-right MPs from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Slovakia, Estonia, Spain, Croatia, Denmark and Belgium have participated in debates and interviews organized by the platform Voice of Europe.