The Walloon Minister of Employment and the Economy, Pierre-Yves Jeholet, spoke out about the accusations of money laundering targeting his close friend Didier Reynders.
Former minister and European commissioner Didier Reynders is at the heart of a judicial investigation after two separate reports for money laundering. The National Lottery and the Financial Information Processing Unit (CTIF) both alerted the public prosecutor about it.
The first suspicions date back to 2021, when the National Lottery noted an abnormally high use of e-tickets in one of its points of sale over a prolonged period.
An official declaration was filed with the federal prosecutor’s office in 2022. For its part, the CTIF, an independent authority which monitors suspicious financial transactions, sent a detailed file going back up to ten years of financial history at the end of 2023.
According to De Standaard, this report shows 800,000 euros of suspicious money linked to Didier Reynders. The report sent by the CTIF comes from a bank, although no precise details have been revealed on the identity of the establishment.
The CTIF usually collaborates with various organizations such as banks, notaries, accountants or even gambling operators to report any suspicious transactions.
The reaction of Pierre-Yves Jeholet
While he was Martin Buxant’s guest on bel RTL’s 7h50, Pierre-Yves Jeholet, close to Didier Reynders, declared: “I’m surprised, but my philosophy of friendship is: ‘friendship in joyful moments but also in turbulent, more painful moments.’ Basically, Didier Reynders will explain himself and justice will do its job.“
While Didier Reynders is called upon to explain himself, the investigation continues to determine the origin and exact nature of the amounts mentioned.
didier reynders judicial investigation money laundering CTIF national lottery suspicious transactions federal investigation financial reports pierre-yves jeholet Belgian justice
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