'Today is the day we need to act!'. Ine Van Wymersch, the National Drug Commissioner for Belgium, emphasises that the country must mobilise its entire society in the fight against money laundering without delay.
In an interview with the AFP, Van Wymersch, who has been in charge of this coordination mission since 2023, urges all levels of government and sectors of activity to help "chase illegal money" before it infiltrates the legitimate economy.
"Criminal organisations’ accomplices live among us. The distinction between the legal world, supposedly good, and the illegal, supposedly bad, is no longer tenable. Belgium is not a narco-state, but we must act now," she stresses.
Van Wymersch believes vigilance should begin as soon as a business owner requests a licence to operate in a municipality. "Is yet another hair salon or pizzeria on the same commercial street justified? Is it good for the local economy? Local authorities need to ask these questions."
"We must also identify businesses where no one is present," she continues, suggesting these could be mere fronts to conceal the laundering of illegal money. She references a recent Europol report that states "86% of the most threatening criminal networks in the EU exploit legal structures."
Notaries facilitating real estate transactions also need to be part of this awareness-raising effort. "Every sector must consider how to make it more difficult for criminal organisations to exploit them."
One central principle for the National Drug Commissioner is that the drug market is "driven by supply," with traffickers striving to find ways to reach consumers by any means.
Belgium coordinator National Drug Ine van Wymersch attends a meeting with the representatives of six European countries to fight against cocaine trafficking, in Antwerp on June 5, 2023. Credit: Belga / AFP
As a result, "We need to disrupt their networks by putting barriers on all transportation routes—maritime, air, and land. We must control the entire logistical chain. Measures directly targeting consumers have no destabilising effect."
In 2024, cocaine seizures at the Belgian Port of Antwerp, the main entry point for the drug into Europe, dropped to 44 tonnes, from 116 tonnes the previous year.
Van Wymersch credits the investments in scanners and the diligent efforts of port services for this achievement. Nonetheless, she cautions that new routes are emerging from South America, with shipments departing from the Dominican Republic and targeting other European ports like Le Havre in France.
"Consumption hasn’t decreased, the price of cocaine remains the same, and production levels are unchanged. It would be naive to think that making the Port of Antwerp a fortress will stop illegal activity."
Looking ahead, the Commissioner is working on creating a fund in Belgium sourced from the confiscation of traffickers’ assets. This fund would be dedicated to all aspects of the anti-drug fight, including investigative resources, public health, and school prevention programs.
A firebomb attack in Mechelen, Thursday 16 February 2023. Credit: Belga
"This is our primary request to the new government," she explains. It’s akin to applying the "polluter pays" principle, ensuring that traffickers’ money is used to "repair the damage caused."
Van Wymersch gives the example of a warehouse or house used as a clandestine laboratory for synthesising drugs with chemicals. If the property’s owner, whether private or public, is recognised as a victim by the judiciary, they could draw from this fund to cover decontamination costs.
Belgium should take inspiration from the French Agency for the Management and Recovery of Seized Assets (Agrasc). This public body manages and handles all assets seized under judicial mandate. "It’s a way to relieve magistrates by having an independent body capable of reinvesting the money."
