Lucia Simeone, assistant to EPP MEP Fulvio Martusciello, was arrested in Italy today under a European arrest warrant issued by Belgian prosecutors. She faces charges of criminal association, money laundering, and corruption and is scheduled for questioning on Saturday.
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether her arrest is directly connected to two ongoing investigations involving Martusciello—one related to Huawei’s alleged lobbying efforts in the EU and the other concerning expenses fraud.
Belgian media outlets Le Soir, Knack, and Follow the Money recently reported that Belgian police have been investigating Martusciello and former MEP Giuseppe Ferrandino (Renew) for over a year. The two are suspected of forging signatures to fraudulently claim parliamentary allowances, allegedly assisting each other in maximizing expenses.
Martusciello’s name has also surfaced in connection with a Portuguese lawyer and lobbyist arrested in France last week as part of the same Belgian-led Huawei bribery probe, according to L’Expresso.
Last week, Belgian authorities sealed two offices in the European Parliament—one belonging to MEP Marco Falcone and the other to Adam Mouchtar, an assistant to Bulgarian lawmaker Nikola Minchev. Falcone denied any involvement, stating that he may pursue legal action over reputational damage.
The Belgian corruption probe has already led to the arrests of four Huawei-linked lobbyists, accused of bribing former and current MEPs to push Chinese interests in Europe.
Further details on Simeone’s charges and her potential ties to Martusciello’s case are expected soon.
