Investigators in Brussels have searched the European Parliament office of far-right German legislator Maximilian Krah in connection with suspected espionage by his former assistant, Jian Guo, German prosecutors said on Tuesday.
German police arrested Jian Guo on suspicion of espionage on April 22. Krah, a leading member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Europe, fired the man following the allegations that the parliamentary aide was spying for China.
In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, Krah said: "Today, my ex-employee's office in Brussels was searched. This was to be expected after his arrest and is therefore not surprising. The only thing that is remarkable is that it took so long. Neither I nor any other employee are affected."
The German public prosecutor's statement said both Krah's and Jian Guo's offices were searched on Tuesday morning.
"The measures are part of the proceedings against Jian [Guo] on suspicion of acting as an intelligence agent," it said, adding that the search of Krah's office, meanwhile, is pursuant to his status as a witness.
Jian Guo's Brussels flat was searched on April 24, the statement added.
A spokesman for the Belgian public prosecutor's office confirmed to dpa that authorities had entered the offices on the request of German prosecutors.
Dpa has so far been unable to reach Jian Guo for comment on the allegations against him.
Krah sits on the European Parliament's trade committee, and is his party's lead candidate ahead of European elections in a month's time.
Prosecutors allege that Jian Guo passed sensitive information from inside the European Parliament to Chinese intelligence, and also may have relayed information about Chinese political activists living in Europe.
It's not clear exactly what investigators were looking for in the office on Tuesday. Security guards used blue tape to keep journalists at bay in the corridor outside the office.
Documents belonging to Krah are protected by his immunity as a member of the European Parliament. The parliament can decide to waive this immunity, but the legislature isn't due to meet again until after the European elections on June 6-9.
The case against Jian Guo is one of several criminal investigations into foreign meddling in the parliament, though it's the only one related to China.
Last year, Eva Kaili, a Greek social democrat and vice president of the European Parliament, was arrested by Belgian police on suspicion of taking bribes from Qatar.
Two other social democrat members of the parliament - Belgium's Marc Tarabella and Italy's Andrea Cozzolino - were also arrested in their respective home countries as part of the Qatar investigation.
Kaili, Tarabella and Cozzolino deny any wrongdoing. Other figures connected to the parliament, including Kaili's domestic partner, have also been arrested.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo recently announced that the country's intelligence services are investigating attempts by Russia to influence the European Parliament.
