The figures in the fraud file led by an investigating judge in Tongeren speak for themselves. Since July 2023, investigators from the Federal Judicial Police (FGP) Limburg have organized eight days of action with 71 searches in their own province as well as in Wallonia and France, and 400 detectives were deployed.
They have now identified more than sixty suspects and 23 people were actually arrested. Eight gas stations were sealed and the researchers identified at least 30 million liters of decolorized oil. The suspects decolorized red oil via five decolorization installations in Zutendaal, Jeumont (France), Hensies, Namur and Marcinelle. These were dismantled. Namur even had the scoop as the location where they found the very first mobile installation, housed in a small truck that the suspects could easily move.
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Behind the organization of the large-scale fraud are two criminal organizations that are partly intertwined. They decolorized the oil and then delivered it to various gas stations. By selling the heating oil as diesel, they avoided excise duties.
Fuel depot in Houthalen-Helchteren
The investigators calculated that the Belgian state lost around 25 million euros in income while the suspects made huge profits. The financial figures show this. For example, investigators seized 5,940,237 euros that were parked in accounts. During the searches they also found 355,435 euros in cash. In addition, a value calculation had previously been made of the real estate and vehicles on which they had placed a protective seizure. This included amounts of 2,874,000 and 465,409 euros respectively.
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The investigation started in July with suspects from (Central) Limburg and a manager of a fuel depot in Houthalen-Helchteren was also arrested. But afterwards the file continued to expand.
A decolourisation installation was previously found in Zutendaal. — © TP
During the last searches in October and November this year, investigators mainly focused on the activities of the Walloon organization in the Namur region. The organiser, the supplier of the heating oil and the customer of a family group of petrol stations were all arrested. “This targeted action dealt a huge blow to the organized sale of decolorized oil in parts of Wallonia,” say the federal police.
It is not clear whether the research has gradually reached its end point or will expand further.
