Belgian and French authorities have raided the offices of a European parliament staffer on suspicion of working for Russia, the latest in a series of scandals involving far-right lawmakers and their alleged ties to foreign governments.
Police on Wednesday raided the apartment and parliamentary offices in Brussels and Strasbourg of an assistant in the European parliament, according to Belgian officials. The staffer is being investigated in connection with an alleged Russian influence operation run via the Prague-based Voice of Europe website, which has been banned from broadcasting in the EU.
“The searches are part of a case of interference, passive corruption and membership of a criminal organisation and relates to indications of Russian interference, whereby members of the European parliament were approached and paid to promote Russian propaganda via the Voice of Europe ‘news website’,” the Belgian prosecutor’s office said.