Didier Reynders, suspected of money laundering via lottery tickets, was searched and interviewed by the police on Tuesday, the public prosecutor’s office said, confirming information from Le Soir and the investigative media platform Follow The Money. This is also not the first time that Justice has targeted Didier Reynders, as Martin Buxant, RTL info political referent, explains.
Concretely, Didier Reynders is suspected of having purchased “e-tickets”, i.e. vouchers of 1 to 100 euros, purchasable at all points of sale and transferable to a game account held at the National Lottery.
According to the preliminary investigation, it appears that the lottery ticket purchases were made partly in cash. The winnings were paid into the former minister’s digital account at the National Lottery, and then transferred to his current account.
As the investigation relates to a period when the liberal was a federal minister then European commissioner, Didier Reynders enjoys immunity, even if he is no longer charged with any mandate today, explains Le Soir. This immunity does not prevent the opening of the investigation and the carrying out of searches, but it excludes at this stage any deprivation of liberty.
Not a first for Didier Reynders
This is not the first time that Justice has targeted Didier Reynders, as Martin Buxant, RTL info political referent, explains.
“We must first take the usual tweezers and precautions, no one has yet had access to Didier Reynders’ explanations. He was heard last night until late in the evening, according to our sources. Perhaps was he able to explain to investigators the mechanism of lottery tickets purchased in cash So, be careful.”
Didier Reynders is not known for being “a man of money”, but rather “a man of power”.
“All the more, remember, that this is not the first time that he is, wrongly, in the crosshairs of Justice. At the beginning of the 2000s, a cabal was set up against him who, at the time, was a minister of Finance in the government of Guy Verhofstadt – it is claimed that he has a bank account with millions in Luxembourg… at KBLux False and extremely false: Reynders will even sue the newspaper De Morgen for defamation. at the time author of these pseudo revelations… And he will win… So, once again, caution will do its job.
The timing of these revelations is “surprising”: Didier Reynders has just left his post as European Commissioner. We want to prevent him from bouncing elsewhere in an important position?
“There is no need for this since he has already been excluded from his own succession to the commission: party president Georges Louis Bouchez preferred Hadja Labib and he is not considered for returning to the committee. within the federal government for a position, politically, therefore, on the Belgian scene, Didier Reynders is no longer an obstacle for anyone. It is rather on the international stage that he would like or would have liked to bounce back one last time. continues Martin Buxant.
Another “liberal dinosaur” has been very discreet lately: what has happened to Charles Michel?
“A mixed mandate as President of the European Council, the international press has pilloried him. He too would like to return to an international role, but so far has not found one. What is certain is is that Georges-Louis Bouchez with his victory last June and his various appointments, put an end to the era of Reynders and Michel.”
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