The Belgian judge who formerly presided over the Qatargate corruption probe has claimed that widespread corruption has put his country's democratic system in "terrible danger".
In an interview with Le Soir, Michel Claise also condemned the country's tax authorities for not combating extensive fraud among the country's elite and denounced Belgian policymakers for their "blindness and deafness" to the problem.
"How can you expect corruption and money laundering not to spread when there is a feeling of impunity?" Claise said. "The results we have are shabby compared to the scale of what we are fighting. All this places democracy in terrible danger."
"For example, simple tax fraud in Belgium already amounts to around €30 billion, or 6% of gross Belgian annual GDP," he added. "Hello, are we waking up?"
Claise further suggested that Belgium's current tax system is designed merely to "piss off little people" rather than combat serious financial malfeasance among the rich and powerful. "These [tax authorities] are not where they need to be and are not acting properly. They say so themselves. We have to sound the alarm."
'We cannot exclude a rise in criminal organisations'
During the interview, Claise also discussed his harrowing personal experience overseeing the Qatargate probe. In particular, he noted that over the period December 2022 until June this year his home was broken into, his phone was "totally infected" with malware, and he repeatedly received death threats.
"I am doing a job in which I would like to work serenely," he said. "But when you have files like mine, which touch on very sensitive things, it's impossible."
He added: "You know, in Italy there are judges who have been murdered... We cannot exclude a rise in criminal organisations – which may be of a state-sponsored nature – which endanger the life of a magistrate [in Belgium]."
Claise also addressed – albeit rather cryptically – the course of events that led to his decision to recuse himself from the investigation. This included the fact that his own son had previously co-founded a business with the son of Marie Arena: a Belgian MEP who is herself implicated in Qatargate – although she has not been formally charged.
Marie Arena. Credit: EP Photo
"To answer this question [regarding what happened] is to get to the bottom of the matter, and there is no way that I will do it," he said, adding: "The truth is in the case file. It will explode in the face of those who want to manipulate it. And I won't say anything more."
The Qatargate corruption scandal – in which the Qatari and Moroccan Governments are alleged to have made payments to various European officials in exchange for their support for pro-Qatari and pro-Moroccan policies – has led to charges being brought against sitting Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella, as well as several other current and former senior European officials.
While still presiding over the investigation, Claise also twice came close to requesting the suspension of Arena's parliamentary immunity: a necessary prerequisite to formally charging her. The second request was reportedly close to being finalised in mid-June: just days before Claise stepped down from the investigation.
