The National Lottery reported Didier Reynders to the Ctif in 2022 for suspicion of money laundering

The hearings of Didier Reynders and his wife by the federal judicial police in Brussels ended late Tuesday evening. Both were able to return to their home, which was searched Tuesday morning, pending legal action. The investigation aimed atformer Federal Minister of Finance, Foreign Affairs and DefenseThen European Commissioner for Justice until a few days ago, was opened in 2023 by the Brussels public prosecutor’s office.

This is a very specific procedure, resulting from the 1998 law, which expressly concerns suspicions relating to ministers during the exercise of their function and covered by immunity. They cannot, in fact, be subject to measures of deprivation of liberty.

As part of this case, three advisors from the court of appeal authorized the searches at domicile ucclois de M. Reynders and in his second home in province of Liège. And investigating officer of the Brussels Court of Appeal has been appointed, he is the one leading the investigation. It is up to him to determine the follow-up to be given to the case, to continue the hearings and, possibly, to request the lifting of the immunity of Didier Reynders before the House of Representatives in order to be able to take binding measures with regard to theformer president of the MR (2004-2011). A procedure that could go quickly, if that were the choice of the instructor advisor.

The file, the existence of which was revealed by Le Soir and Follow the Money Tuesday evening, is based on a unique prevention of money laundering. The case arose following several Ctif reports (Financial Information Processing Unit), the body which tracks money laundering in Belgium by receiving information from banking institutions, in particular.

In a press release published this Wednesday, the National Lottery mentioned, “over the last five years, only one report to the competent authorities in the context of suspicious behavior which could be linked to money laundering”. Made in 2022, this report concerns Didier Reynders, according to a source close to the matter. It was therefore the Lottery which made one of the reports of suspicion to the Ctif.

For years, according to these reports, Didier Reynders would have purchased National Lottery e-tickets in cash, before ultimately transferring his winnings to his personal bank account. If the total amount of these purchases has not been revealed, according to information from L’Echo, we are talking about significant sums, well beyond a few thousand euros. According to a source, Didier Reynders even happened to inject cash into his Lottery account and then transfer it by transfer to his personal bank account, without even having played. It was following “warnings” triggered after a series of intensive deposits and withdrawals that the Lottery made its report to the Ctif.

Is Didier Reynders a compulsive gambler or did he want to launder money? This is the clear question that justice will ask itself during this judicial investigation. In fact, it is considered that a game of chance player loses between 20% and 30% of his original stake on average. A dead loss, but which allows cash of unknown origin to enter the legal circuit.

As part of this case, justice is questioning the existence of laundering and the origin of the cash used by Mr. Reynders, because the method of gambling is increasingly popular with those who want to make ill-gotten cash appear legal. According to Michel Maus, professor of tax law at the VUBinterviewed this Wednesday morning on Radio 1, this technique, nicknamed “smurfing”, “consists of dividing large sums of money into small pieces. A transaction is not noticed, but if you start buying scratch tickets for 1,000 or 2,000 euros each month through an electronic ticketing systemafter a certain time, it will be noticed,” he explains.

Didier Reynders’ entourage as well as the MR did not respond to our requests this Wednesday.

The hearings of Didier Reynders and his wife by the federal judicial police in Brussels ended late Tuesday evening. Both were able to return to their home, which was searched Tuesday morning, pending legal action. The investigation aimed atformer Federal Minister of Finance, Foreign Affairs and DefenseThen European Commissioner for Justice until a few days ago, was opened in 2023 by the Brussels public prosecutor’s office.

This is a very specific procedure, resulting from the 1998 law, which expressly concerns suspicions relating to ministers during the exercise of their function and covered by immunity. They cannot, in fact, be subject to measures of deprivation of liberty.

As part of this case, three advisors from the court of appeal authorized the searches at domicile ucclois de M. Reynders and in his second home in province of Liège. And investigating officer of the Brussels Court of Appeal has been appointed, he is the one leading the investigation. It is up to him to determine the follow-up to be given to the case, to continue the hearings and, possibly, to request the lifting of the immunity of Didier Reynders before the House of Representatives in order to be able to take binding measures with regard to theformer president of the MR (2004-2011). A procedure that could go quickly, if that were the choice of the instructor advisor.

The file, the existence of which was revealed by Le Soir and Follow the Money Tuesday evening, is based on a unique prevention of money laundering. The case arose following several Ctif reports (Financial Information Processing Unit), the body which tracks money laundering in Belgium by receiving information from banking institutions, in particular.

In a press release published this Wednesday, the National Lottery mentioned, “over the last five years, only one report to the competent authorities in the context of suspicious behavior which could be linked to money laundering”. Made in 2022, this report concerns Didier Reynders, according to a source close to the matter. It was therefore the Lottery which made one of the reports of suspicion to the Ctif.

For years, according to these reports, Didier Reynders would have purchased National Lottery e-tickets in cash, before ultimately transferring his winnings to his personal bank account. If the total amount of these purchases has not been revealed, according to information from L’Echo, we are talking about significant sums, well beyond a few thousand euros. According to a source, Didier Reynders even happened to inject cash into his Lottery account and then transfer it by transfer to his personal bank account, without even having played. It was following “warnings” triggered after a series of intensive deposits and withdrawals that the Lottery made its report to the Ctif.

Is Didier Reynders a compulsive gambler or did he want to launder money? This is the clear question that justice will ask itself during this judicial investigation. In fact, it is considered that a game of chance player loses between 20% and 30% of his original stake on average. A dead loss, but which allows cash of unknown origin to enter the legal circuit.

As part of this case, justice is questioning the existence of laundering and the origin of the cash used by Mr. Reynders, because the method of gambling is increasingly popular with those who want to make ill-gotten cash appear legal. According to Michel Maus, professor of tax law at the VUBinterviewed this Wednesday morning on Radio 1, this technique, nicknamed “smurfing”, “consists of dividing large sums of money into small pieces. A transaction is not noticed, but if you start buying scratch tickets for 1,000 or 2,000 euros each month through an electronic ticketing systemafter a certain time, it will be noticed,” he explains.

Didier Reynders’ entourage as well as the MR did not respond to our requests this Wednesday.

The hearings of Didier Reynders and his wife by the federal judicial police in Brussels ended late Tuesday evening. Both were able to return to their home, which was searched Tuesday morning, pending legal action. The investigation aimed atformer Federal Minister of Finance, Foreign Affairs and DefenseThen European Commissioner for Justice until a few days ago, was opened in 2023 by the Brussels public prosecutor’s office.

This is a very specific procedure, resulting from the 1998 law, which expressly concerns suspicions relating to ministers during the exercise of their function and covered by immunity. They cannot, in fact, be subject to measures of deprivation of liberty.

As part of this case, three advisors from the court of appeal authorized the searches at domicile ucclois de M. Reynders and in his second home in province of Liège. And investigating officer of the Brussels Court of Appeal has been appointed, he is the one leading the investigation. It is up to him to determine the follow-up to be given to the case, to continue the hearings and, possibly, to request the lifting of the immunity of Didier Reynders before the House of Representatives in order to be able to take binding measures with regard to theformer president of the MR (2004-2011). A procedure that could go quickly, if that were the choice of the instructor advisor.

The file, the existence of which was revealed by Le Soir and Follow the Money Tuesday evening, is based on a unique prevention of money laundering. The case arose following several Ctif reports (Financial Information Processing Unit), the body which tracks money laundering in Belgium by receiving information from banking institutions, in particular.

In a press release published this Wednesday, the National Lottery mentioned, “over the last five years, only one report to the competent authorities in the context of suspicious behavior which could be linked to money laundering”. Made in 2022, this report concerns Didier Reynders, according to a source close to the matter. It was therefore the Lottery which made one of the reports of suspicion to the Ctif.

For years, according to these reports, Didier Reynders would have purchased National Lottery e-tickets in cash, before ultimately transferring his winnings to his personal bank account. If the total amount of these purchases has not been revealed, according to information from L’Echo, we are talking about significant sums, well beyond a few thousand euros. According to a source, Didier Reynders even happened to inject cash into his Lottery account and then transfer it by transfer to his personal bank account, without even having played. It was following “warnings” triggered after a series of intensive deposits and withdrawals that the Lottery made its report to the Ctif.

Is Didier Reynders a compulsive gambler or did he want to launder money? This is the clear question that justice will ask itself during this judicial investigation. In fact, it is considered that a game of chance player loses between 20% and 30% of his original stake on average. A dead loss, but which allows cash of unknown origin to enter the legal circuit.

As part of this case, justice is questioning the existence of laundering and the origin of the cash used by Mr. Reynders, because the method of gambling is increasingly popular with those who want to make ill-gotten cash appear legal. According to Michel Maus, professor of tax law at the VUBinterviewed this Wednesday morning on Radio 1, this technique, nicknamed “smurfing”, “consists of dividing large sums of money into small pieces. A transaction is not noticed, but if you start buying scratch tickets for 1,000 or 2,000 euros each month through an electronic ticketing systemafter a certain time, it will be noticed,” he explains.

Didier Reynders’ entourage as well as the MR did not respond to our requests this Wednesday.

The hearings of Didier Reynders and his wife by the federal judicial police in Brussels ended late Tuesday evening. Both were able to return to their home, which was searched Tuesday morning, pending legal action. The investigation aimed atformer Federal Minister of Finance, Foreign Affairs and DefenseThen European Commissioner for Justice until a few days ago, was opened in 2023 by the Brussels public prosecutor’s office.

This is a very specific procedure, resulting from the 1998 law, which expressly concerns suspicions relating to ministers during the exercise of their function and covered by immunity. They cannot, in fact, be subject to measures of deprivation of liberty.

As part of this case, three advisors from the court of appeal authorized the searches at domicile ucclois de M. Reynders and in his second home in province of Liège. And investigating officer of the Brussels Court of Appeal has been appointed, he is the one leading the investigation. It is up to him to determine the follow-up to be given to the case, to continue the hearings and, possibly, to request the lifting of the immunity of Didier Reynders before the House of Representatives in order to be able to take binding measures with regard to theformer president of the MR (2004-2011). A procedure that could go quickly, if that were the choice of the instructor advisor.

The file, the existence of which was revealed by Le Soir and Follow the Money Tuesday evening, is based on a unique prevention of money laundering. The case arose following several Ctif reports (Financial Information Processing Unit), the body which tracks money laundering in Belgium by receiving information from banking institutions, in particular.

In a press release published this Wednesday, the National Lottery mentioned, “over the last five years, only one report to the competent authorities in the context of suspicious behavior which could be linked to money laundering”. Made in 2022, this report concerns Didier Reynders, according to a source close to the matter. It was therefore the Lottery which made one of the reports of suspicion to the Ctif.

For years, according to these reports, Didier Reynders would have purchased National Lottery e-tickets in cash, before ultimately transferring his winnings to his personal bank account. If the total amount of these purchases has not been revealed, according to information from L’Echo, we are talking about significant sums, well beyond a few thousand euros. According to a source, Didier Reynders even happened to inject cash into his Lottery account and then transfer it by transfer to his personal bank account, without even having played. It was following “warnings” triggered after a series of intensive deposits and withdrawals that the Lottery made its report to the Ctif.

Is Didier Reynders a compulsive gambler or did he want to launder money? This is the clear question that justice will ask itself during this judicial investigation. In fact, it is considered that a game of chance player loses between 20% and 30% of his original stake on average. A dead loss, but which allows cash of unknown origin to enter the legal circuit.

As part of this case, justice is questioning the existence of laundering and the origin of the cash used by Mr. Reynders, because the method of gambling is increasingly popular with those who want to make ill-gotten cash appear legal. According to Michel Maus, professor of tax law at the VUBinterviewed this Wednesday morning on Radio 1, this technique, nicknamed “smurfing”, “consists of dividing large sums of money into small pieces. A transaction is not noticed, but if you start buying scratch tickets for 1,000 or 2,000 euros each month through an electronic ticketing systemafter a certain time, it will be noticed,” he explains.

Didier Reynders’ entourage as well as the MR did not respond to our requests this Wednesday.

The hearings of Didier Reynders and his wife by the federal judicial police in Brussels ended late Tuesday evening. Both were able to return to their home, which was searched Tuesday morning, pending legal action. The investigation aimed atformer Federal Minister of Finance, Foreign Affairs and DefenseThen European Commissioner for Justice until a few days ago, was opened in 2023 by the Brussels public prosecutor’s office.

This is a very specific procedure, resulting from the 1998 law, which expressly concerns suspicions relating to ministers during the exercise of their function and covered by immunity. They cannot, in fact, be subject to measures of deprivation of liberty.

As part of this case, three advisors from the court of appeal authorized the searches at domicile ucclois de M. Reynders and in his second home in province of Liège. And investigating officer of the Brussels Court of Appeal has been appointed, he is the one leading the investigation. It is up to him to determine the follow-up to be given to the case, to continue the hearings and, possibly, to request the lifting of the immunity of Didier Reynders before the House of Representatives in order to be able to take binding measures with regard to theformer president of the MR (2004-2011). A procedure that could go quickly, if that were the choice of the instructor advisor.

The file, the existence of which was revealed by Le Soir and Follow the Money Tuesday evening, is based on a unique prevention of money laundering. The case arose following several Ctif reports (Financial Information Processing Unit), the body which tracks money laundering in Belgium by receiving information from banking institutions, in particular.

In a press release published this Wednesday, the National Lottery mentioned, “over the last five years, only one report to the competent authorities in the context of suspicious behavior which could be linked to money laundering”. Made in 2022, this report concerns Didier Reynders, according to a source close to the matter. It was therefore the Lottery which made one of the reports of suspicion to the Ctif.

For years, according to these reports, Didier Reynders would have purchased National Lottery e-tickets in cash, before ultimately transferring his winnings to his personal bank account. If the total amount of these purchases has not been revealed, according to information from L’Echo, we are talking about significant sums, well beyond a few thousand euros. According to a source, Didier Reynders even happened to inject cash into his Lottery account and then transfer it by transfer to his personal bank account, without even having played. It was following “warnings” triggered after a series of intensive deposits and withdrawals that the Lottery made its report to the Ctif.

Is Didier Reynders a compulsive gambler or did he want to launder money? This is the clear question that justice will ask itself during this judicial investigation. In fact, it is considered that a game of chance player loses between 20% and 30% of his original stake on average. A dead loss, but which allows cash of unknown origin to enter the legal circuit.

As part of this case, justice is questioning the existence of laundering and the origin of the cash used by Mr. Reynders, because the method of gambling is increasingly popular with those who want to make ill-gotten cash appear legal. According to Michel Maus, professor of tax law at the VUBinterviewed this Wednesday morning on Radio 1, this technique, nicknamed “smurfing”, “consists of dividing large sums of money into small pieces. A transaction is not noticed, but if you start buying scratch tickets for 1,000 or 2,000 euros each month through an electronic ticketing systemafter a certain time, it will be noticed,” he explains.

Didier Reynders’ entourage as well as the MR did not respond to our requests this Wednesday.