Lucia Simeone, an associate of Forza Italia MEP Fulvio Martusciello, was arrested pursuant to a European arrest warrant issued by Belgian judicial authorities.
The charges are of criminal association, corruption and money laundering, as part of an investigation into alleged bribes paid by Huawei to obtain favors at the EU level on 5G.
Simeone's lawyer, Antimo Giaccio, calls the charges "mortifying" and "incomprehensible", underlining the difficulty in understanding the charges, which were notified in French.
At the centre of the investigation is a transfer of one thousand euros received by Simeone from Miguel Benoliel de Carvalho Wahnon Martens, a former Portuguese colleague of MEP Martusciello.
“Incomprehensible” accusations and a thousand euro bank transfer
Giaccio announces that his client is ready to defend herself and that tomorrow she will provide detailed explanations on the bank transfer received. At the moment, Simeone is in the Secondigliano prison, after the arrest that took place in a B&B in Santa Maria Capua Vetere.
Martusciello not involved in the facts
The arrest was carried out by the state police of Marcianise (Caserta), following a European arrest warrant issued by the Belgian authorities. The investigation, which also involves other politicians, aims to shed light on alleged bribes for a total of approximately 46 thousand euros.
At the moment, MEP Fulvio Martusciello is not under investigation.
