Belgian prosecutors have admitted that Maltese Labour MEP Daniel Attard was wrongly identified as the recipient of allegedly suspicious bank deposits from China, after confusing him with another Maltese man who shares his name.
The error emerged in the context of Belgium's corruption investigation linked to Chinese tech giant Huawei, with Brussels-based news portal Politico reporting that the Belgian prosecutor's office informed the European Parliament's legal affairs committee of the mistake in a letter sent earlier this month.
According to Politico, the prosecutor acknowledged that Belgium's financial transactions watchdog had made an "error" by "mistaking" the identity of the bank account holder.
The bank account in question did not belong to the Maltese MEP, but to another Daniel Attard - a Maltese businessman, lawyer and Labour mayor of Għasri.
The allegation concerning the suspicious transfers had formed part of the dossier submitted by Belgian prosecutors to the European Parliament's legal affairs committee, which is considering whether to lift the parliamentary immunity of MEP Daniel Attard.
Politico reported that the clarification came after lawmakers asked the Belgian prosecutor to verify that the correct person had been identified.
The other Daniel Attard, who practises as a lawyer and advises international clients, including Chinese nationals, on residency matters, told Politico that his activities are entirely unrelated to the Huawei investigation and have no connection whatsoever to the Labour MEP. He also said that Huawei had never been a client of his.
The businessman, who in the past facilitated Maltese citizenship applications for Chinese nationals under Malta's now-defunct golden passport scheme, insisted there was no link between his work and the Belgian probe.
Reacting to the development, MEP Daniel Attard reiterated his innocence and stressed the importance of due process.
Speaking to MaltaToday, Attard said: "From the outset I have offered my full cooperation and transparency with the competent authorities and I reiterate my complete innocence in this matter. It now appears that part of the investigation may have stemmed from a mistaken identity."
He noted that confusion over his name is not unprecedented.
"I have on several occasions been confused with another individual who bears the same name and who is also a warranted lawyer," he said.
Attard said the episode highlighted the need for authorities to verify facts thoroughly before damaging reputations.
"This underlines the importance of due process and of verifying facts carefully before reputations are put on the line. I will continue to fully cooperate with the European Parliament and with the competent authorities until this matter is concluded once and for all, and I hope it will now proceed without any further undue delay," he said.
The Belgian investigation first came to light in March last year, when the country's federal prosecutor announced a probe into allegations of "active corruption within the European Parliament". Prosecutors later said the alleged bribery was believed to have benefited Huawei.
The case reportedly followed an investigation that included the wiretapping of an executive VIP box at RSC Anderlecht's stadium.
Huawei has previously said it maintains a "zero-tolerance stance against corruption".
The affair has, however, been marred by a series of procedural errors.
Shortly after the scandal broke, Belgian prosecutors asked the European Parliament to lift the immunity of five MEPs, including Daniel Attard. But within hours, they withdrew a similar request concerning Italian MEP Giusi Princi after realising she had not yet been elected to the European Parliament at the time of the alleged wrongdoing.
At the time, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola had warned against damaging lawmakers' reputations without proper grounds.
"I will not accept the targeting and tarnishing of MEPs without a solid basis," Metsola had said.
PL reaction
In reaction, the Labour Party said "everyone remembers" how the Nationalist Party and their usual acolytes were quick to condemn Daniel Attard, with malice and vindictiveness, while the investigations were still ongoing.
Instead of pointing fingers at others, the Nationalist Party would do better to stop targeting individuals and engaging in character assassination, as we have now grown accustomed to seeing them do, not only in Malta but also in European fora.
It is shameful that the PN sets itself up as judge and jury against Labour representatives to score political points, simply to tarnish people's reputations at the first opportunity it gets, the PL said.
"This episode, like many others, bears witness to the fact that the Nationalist Party never changes, and that if it were ever entrusted with power, it is evident that it would perpetuate a campaign of vindictiveness against anyone who is not part of the clique that has taken hold of it," the PL said.
The Labour Party said respects the work of the institutions, in this case, the European institutions, and at the same time believes in the integrity of Labour MEP Daniel Attard. It will continue to defend the reputation of Malta and the Maltese beyond our shores.