Didier Reynders
Von der Leyen’s ex-justice commissioner accused of money laundering
Belgium’s public prosecutor’s office is investigating Didier Reynders – they are accusing him of money laundering. Until a few days ago he was the EU Justice Commissioner, responsible for the rule of law.
On Tuesday, Belgian police searched the property of outgoing EU Commissioner Didier Reynders. The Belgian politician had to answer questions from investigators for hours. The accusation: money laundering. The public prosecutor confirmed the allegations to the star. The Dutch platform “Follow the Money” and the Belgian daily newspaper “Le Soir” first reported on it, citing internal sources.
Until Saturday, Reynders was the EU Justice Commissioner responsible for the rule of law in the European Union. With the election of the new EU Commission, he gave up his place for the Belgian Hadja Lahbib.
Money laundering using lottery tickets?
Reynders is now suspected of having laundered funds through the Belgian National Lottery for years.
He is said to have bought e-tickets worth between one and 100 euros from the lottery using funds from dubious sources. He is said to have used these to take part in lottery games and transferred the laundered funds to his private account.
The fact that Reynders chose the National Lottery for suspected money laundering should come as no surprise in Belgium. As finance minister, the liberal politician was responsible for the “Loterie Nationale” from 2007 to 2011.
Reynders had a long and successful political career in Belgium. From 1999 to 2011 he was Minister of Finance in the Belgian government. Foreign Minister from 2011 to 2019 before being sworn in as EU Commissioner for Justice in 2019.
Not the first money laundering allegations against Reynders
It is not the first time that Reynders has been at the center of a corruption scandal; in Belgium he is even nicknamed Teflon Reynders. He and his long-time adviser Jean-Claude Fontinoy have been repeatedly accused of corruption and money laundering in recent years, including by a former secret service agent. As finance minister, Reynders sold a number of state-owned properties and properties to private investors; the real estate transactions are said to have not always been clean. Since 2021, the Belgian public prosecutor’s office has been investigating Reynder’s closest confidante, Fontinoy.
In the current case, the police have been investigating Reynders since 2023, write “Le Soir” and “Follow the Money”. However, she was only able to search his properties now because the Belgian also lost his immunity as EU Commissioner when he left the EU Commission. Reynders and his lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.
Source: Stern
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