The searches at the European Parliament were part of an investigation into possible Russian interference. The police also searched the home of a European Parliament staff member allegedly involved.
What is known about the new scandal in the European Parliament
According to AP, the police first searched the suspect's office in Strasbourg, where the headquarters of the European Parliament is located.
It is important to understand that this was done in partnership with the EU agency for criminal justice cooperation (Eurojust) and the French judicial authorities.
The searches are part of the case of interference, passive corruption and membership in a criminal organisation, they relate to signs of Russian interference, when members of the European Parliament were contacted and paid for the promotion of Russian propaganda through the Voice of Europe news site, the prosecutor's office said.
According to them, there is a high probability that the suspected employee played a "significant role in this".
According to journalists, the suspect is MEP Marcel de Graaff from the far-right Dutch party "Forum for Democracy".
A person familiar with the investigation confirmed that the reports were accurate.
Calls to de Graaff's office in the European Parliament were not immediately returned.
The EU imposed sanctions against Medvedchuk and Marchevsky
On May 27, it became officially known that the Council of the European Union adopted a decision to introduce sanctions against two individuals, including Viktor Medvedchuk, and one organisation responsible for propaganda actions directed against civil society in the EU and its neighboring countries.
As it turned out later, the Council of the EU imposed sanctions against the Voice of Europe resource — an online media outlet, which, according to the Council, is participating in a systematic international campaign of mass media manipulation and distortion of facts with the aim of destabilising Ukraine, the EU and its member states.
In addition, Voice of Europe was used as a means of channeling financial resources intended to pay for the work of propagandists, as well as to create a network of influence on representatives of political parties in Europe.
