Walloon tourist resort Lacs de l'Eau d'Heure, equipped with artificial lakes and sports complexes, is being investigated for possible misuse of EU funds.
Built in the 1970s, the area is composed of five artificial lakes, supported by dams, which form Belgium’s largest lake area and is located just south of the city of Charleroi. Today, it is a popular tourist attraction for water sports, including fishing, kayaking, diving and windsurfing.
Yet this week, investigators from the EU’s Ant-Fraud Office (OLAF) visited the site as part of their investigation into the use of EU funds to develop the tourist resort, RTBF reports.
Between, 2014 and 2020 the resort was given €3.8 million by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the period 2014-2020. These subsidies were used to build a bike park, an adventure park, a 9-hole golf course and an equestrian centre.
EU officials want to verify whether the money paid was put to good use.
Les Lacs de l'Eau d'Heure, a touristic and sports area composed with five lakes between Hainaut and Namur provinces, Tuesday 14 April 2015, in Boussu-Lez-Walcourt. Credit: Belga / Virginie Lefour
"It was not a specific facility that was targeted," the lawyer for the non-profit association Les Lacs de l'Eau d'Heure responded. According to RTBF, since the equestrian centre’s construction 10 years ago, costing several million euros, there are still no horses housed there to this day.
In what could be a major setback for the Lacs de l'Eau d'Heure, EU officials may be questioning the funds released for this project. They may demand a return of the ERDF subsidies, which amount to €400,000 for the equestrian centre alone.
"What we can say at this stage is that the Commission has received transparent information from the management of Les Lacs de L'Eau d'Heure. If it wishes to have further information, it will receive that further information," a Commission spokesperson told RTBF.
