Lhe Minister of Youth Valérie Lescrenier (Les Engagés) ordered an audit to be carried out within the administration following the alleged misappropriation of funds from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation for the benefit of the Red Falcons.
This audit must identify “the processes which deserve improvement and strengthening”, indicated Tuesday the minister, questioned on the matter by several deputies in the Parliament committee.
At the beginning of this month, searches carried out at the headquarters of the FWB administration in Brussels as well as at the headquarters of the Red Falcons led to the indictment of two people, including the secretary-general of the Red Falcons.
The youth movement is suspected of having, at least for ten years, inflated the number of its members to receive more subsidies from the FWB. The damage is estimated in millions of euros.
Asked on Tuesday about the effectiveness of internal controls in place within the administration, Ms. Lescrenier specified that subsidized youth movements were currently subject to an analysis every four years.
This analysis is based first on an inspection of the file submitted by the operators, then on a visit by the Inspection service, and finally on a report from the advisory commission of youth organizations.
Subsidized operators must also submit each year the documents necessary to verify their ordinary subsidy.
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“Zero risk does not exist”
Based on these, the administration services carry out “analyses of varying degrees depending on the financial situation of the operator”, explained Ms Lescrenier. “Despite these controls, and maximum precautions taken, zero risk does not exist,” she defended.
The minister added that she was now waiting for the investigators’ reports in order to better understand how the fraud, if confirmed, was carried out, and whether or not it benefited from internal complicity.
“A reimbursement procedure will be initiated if it is established that the fraud concerns resources granted by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation,” Ms. Lescrenier further indicated.
The case comes just a few months after the entry into force of a new decree on the governance of youth organizations in FWB.
“This decree did not come into force until May 2024. It has not yet been able to bring out all its effects,” however, the minister admitted on Tuesday.
This new legislation allows in particular the application of the principle of double validation of expenses as well as the obligation of a report by an auditor.
“This could undoubtedly have limited the fraudulent action by a single person since it multiplies the controls,” Ms. Lescrenier further commented.
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