Former European Commissioner Didier Reynders must justify the origins of around one million euros in response to the allegations that he used National Lottery tickets to launder money, according to RTBF.
As a result of the police investigations, authorities have uncovered an additional €800,000 in unexplained payments made over 15 years. The first payments dates back to before 2010.
These are in addition to the €200,000 in e-lottery tickets at the centre of Tuesday's investigation, with the total sum amounting to roughly one million, as reported by RTBF, who clarified that the numbers are estimations.
On Friday, former European Commissioner Didier Reynders responded for the first time on the case, denying any criminal charges.
Speaking through his lawyer André Renette, Reynders has vowed to provide the investigators with the necessary explanations concerning the management of his private assets. His legal counsel states that his political mandates are not implicated in the case.
"The criminal qualification given to the facts as presented in the press is therefore formally contested, both in fact and in law," Renette says in a statement emphasising the presumption of innocence.
The lawyer adds that Reynders will not comment publicly on the content of the case "at this stage," in accordance with procedural rules and his defence rights.
The general prosecutor's office confirmed mid-week that Reynders was questioned and his home searched by police on Tuesday due to suspicions of money laundering through lottery tickets.
Thousands of euros in cash found by police
Thousands of euros in cash were discovered by police while searching the properties of Belgium's former European Commissioner Didier Reynders, Le Soir reported on Friday.
Reynders and his lawyers have not been reachable for comment. But some details have emerged from Tuesday morning’s police searches at the couple's home in Uccle and at their country house in Vissoul, near Liège.
During the operation, police discovered cash said to be worth a total of no more than €10,000. Flemish media De Standaard reports it being around €7,000.
These sums of money are not significant given the former European Commissioner and Belgian minister’s comfortable lifestyle (his wife is also a magistrate). However, the origins and the traceability of the cash are key questions, Le Soir reports.
Picture of an e-ticket to put credit on a digital account of the Belgium National Lottery, pictured on Wednesday 04 December 2024 in Helecine. Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
Another new detail of the investigation is Reynders’ use of multiple types of lottery tickets – not just e-tickets. E-tickets have a limit of €500, and are essentially digital gambling tickets that can be bought at any lottery sales outlet. It also allows players to bet on several types of games.
The use of multiple types of lottery tickets can explain why he was able to exceed the weekly limit, as reported by L'Echo and De Tijd on Thursday.
However, at this stage, neither Reynders nor his wife have been arrested or charged.
Allegations
The suspected criminal period spans several years, extending at least until last year. The investigation was opened in 2023. Reynders is suspected of purchasing "e-tickets", available at various points of sale and transferable to a National Lottery gaming account.
Preliminary findings suggest that some lottery tickets were bought with cash. The winnings were credited to the former minister’s digital account at the National Lottery and then transferred to his own bank account.
In response to the allegation, the National Lottery said that it had made only one report (in 2022) to the authorities in five years for suspected money laundering. This was the very report which led to the investigation of the Belgian former European Commissioner for Justice.
