Didier Reynders, who was European Commissioner of Justice under EC President Ursula von der Leyen until recently, is the subject of more allegations of money laundering, it has been revealed.
In addition to the report by the Belgian National Lottery, which led to Reynders and his wife being investigated over alleged suspicious behaviour, Belgium’s Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CFI) has filed a separate report.
At the end of 2023, the CFI received a notification regarding Reynders from one of the organisations required to report potentially suspicious transactions.
Dutch newspaper De Standaard said on December 16 that the second report came from a bank.
It claimed that the file connected to the second report was more detailed than the one from the lottery.
“The CFI went back 10 years and allegedly recovered a total of some €800,000 of suspicious money in Reynders’ accounts,” De Standaard alleged.
“After that report, the CFI also conducted an investigation. This meant they inquired whether other organisations with a reporting obligation had potentially suspicious transactions involving the Reynders couple.
“Similarly, in January 2024, the National Lottery, along with a whole range of gambling companies, received an information request from the CFI. However, the lottery is legally exempt from the reporting obligation and had already reported Reynders to the public prosecutor two years earlier,” the paper reported.
An alleged money laundering scheme tied to former European Commissioner Didier Reynders is uniquely shielded by a recent EU exemption for national lotteries. https://t.co/ktgaKTJRwk
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) December 5, 2024
The Brussels federal police began its investigation in March 2024 after receiving both the National Lottery and CFI reports.
In early December, just after he lost the immunity that came with his position as justice Commissioner, Reynder’s premises were searched by police and the couple were questioned.
On December 11, the Belgian National Lottery gave more information about what it called “the highly unusual” case involving Didier Reynders.
“Never before has a player accumulated several play limits in a similar way. This involves two player accounts out of a total of 2 million accounts opened with the National Lottery,” it said in a special press release seen by Brussels Signal.
On December 6, public media RTBF reported that the Reynders had account for deposits totalling €1 million.
Reynders’ wife, who was a high magistrate at the court of appeals until her retirement in 2018, was also questioned by the police earlier in December.
De Standaard reported on December 16 she maintained a separate lottery account with a distinct email and password that was accessed exclusively on a single device: Didier Reynders’ mobile phone.
His allegedly suspicious behaviour was first noted in 2021 and by February 7, 2022, the National Lottery had completed its investigation.
On March 17, 2022, the lottery filed a report with the federal prosecutor’s office.
Reynders has continued to refuse to comment on the case. His lawyer has reportedly said that he disputes the allegations.
From 1999 to 2011, Reynders had been Belgian justice minister and was politically responsible for the Belgian Lottery between 2007 and 2011.
He has been accused of wrongdoing and corruption several times but never found guilty of any offence by a Belgian court.
