Belgian federal prosecutors announced Thursday the arrests of several people as part of a corruption probe linked to the European Parliament amid reports in local media that Chinese company Huawei bribed EU lawmakers.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Belgian prosecutors said on Thursday they had detained several individuals over suspected bribery in the European Parliament allegedly for the benefit of China's Huawei. Belgian investigators carried out searches of 21 premises across Belgium and in Portugal on Thursday morning.

Belgian police have raided several locations in the country as part of an investigation into corruption within the European Parliament. Prosecutors said the alleged corruption was "under the guise of commercial lobbying", and that several people had been detained for questioning.