The Belgian authorities announced today that they have opened an embezzlement investigation against former EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, just a few days after his term in the European Commission expired.
A spokeswoman for the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of Brussels told AP that an investigation has been opened against former commissioner Reynders regarding "possible money laundering practices." She said that as part of the investigation, searches of homes were also carried out.
The investigation began just days after Reynders' term as EU justice commissioner ended at the weekend. He has been in that position since 2019.
The spokeswoman refused to talk about reports from the newspapers Suar (Le Soir) and Folou d Mani (Follow the Money) that the investigation is related to money laundering through the national lottery.
Reynders' parliamentary group in the European Parliament, Renew Europe, said it would not comment on the ongoing investigation.
Any scandal involving Reynders would also affect the European Commission, where he was tasked with ensuring that Western principles of the rule of law were respected during his tenure, including a tough fight against corruption, AP writes.
According to the Belgian media, the former Belgian minister and European Commissioner Reynders was questioned by the Belgian police on Tuesday and his home in Brussels was searched, as part of an investigation related to suspected money laundering.
The investigation, conducted by the chief prosecutor of Brussels, was opened in 2023 after the allegations of the Financial Information Processing Unit and the National Lottery, the media reported.
Rejnders (66) is suspected of carrying out money laundering activities through the purchase of games of chance when he was still a minister of the Belgian federal government, and the amount involved has not been specified, according to the Belgian media.
"Two days after the end of his mandate as a European commissioner, he was questioned by the police, he was not detained," said a source close to the case, who added that there were several searches, including in his apartment in Brussels.
According to the newspaper Suar, his cottage in Wallonia was also searched.
Before he was an EU Commissioner during the first mandate of Ursula von der Leyen at the head of the European Commission (2019-2024), he was in several Belgian governments, for a long time he was Minister of Finance (1999-2011) before becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs ( 2011-2019).
This year, he ran for the continuation of his mandate as European Commissioner on behalf of Belgium, but his Reform Movement party (MR, liberals) opted for Hadja Lahbib (54), who has been the head of Belgian diplomacy since July 2022.
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