Belgian police have raided the home of a European Parliament employee in connection with alleged Russian interference into the European elections.
The employee’s offices were also searched in the Parliament buildings in both Brussels and Strasbourg.
In a statement, the Belgian federal public prosecutor’s office said the searches were part of an ongoing investigation into “interference, passive corruption and membership of a criminal organisation”.
The statement said an alleged Russian interference operation involved MEPs who were “allegedly approached and paid to promote Russian propaganda via the Voice of Europe ‘news website’.”
“There are indications that the European Parliament employee involved played a significant role in this,” the statement said.
The raids were carried out this morning in the Schaerbeek area of Brussels following a court order. The EU’s judicial cooperation agency Eurojust and the French authorities were involved in the Strasbourg searches.
The employee has not been named.
In March, the Czech government sanctioned Voice of Europe, which was based in Prague, saying it was part of a pro-Russian influence operation.
The Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said at the time that Russia had approached MEPs and “paid [them], to promote Russian propaganda”.
Poland also carried out investigations into alleged Russian interference in March.
Voice of Europe ran a YouTube channel showing debates that featured far-right and eurosceptic MEPs who would regularly criticise the EU’s support for Ukraine.
