The outgoing European Commissioner for Justice, Belgian Didier Reynders, has been questioned by police and his house has been searched as part of an investigation into suspected money laundering. The investigation, placed under the authority of the Brussels Prosecutor, was opened in 2023 by the Brussels Prosecutor’s Office, but was kept confidential until Reynders finished his role in the first Commission of Ursula von der Leyen, a position thanks to the who benefited from immunity.
The accusations
The events would have occurred over several years and at least until 2023. The politician would have bought vouchers (from 1 to 100 euros) in cash, which he transferred to his internet account of the National Lottery, an organization of which he was responsible between 2007 and 2011. The earnings would then be transferred to his bank account. It is not clear where Reynders got the money or whether there was any cheating involved in the winnings. Now the former commissioner will first have to demonstrate the legal origin of the money.
As the Belgian newspaper Le Soir and Follow The Money revealed, two days after the end of his mandate as European Commissioner, Reynders was interrogated by the police, without being deprived of his liberty, and several searches were carried out, one of which concerned his house in the municipality of Uccle, Brussels. According to the newspapers, his country house in Wallonia was also searched.
The assignments
As European Commissioner for Justice during Ursula von der Leyen’s first mandate, Didier Reynders was responsible for protecting the rule of law in the EU. Previously, this French-speaking liberal was a key figure in Belgian governments for twenty years, serving for a long time as Minister of Finance (1999-2011), before becoming head of diplomacy (2011-2019).
This year he was a candidate for reconfirmation as European Commissioner-designate of Belgium, but his party, the Mouvement Réformateur (MR, liberal), Hadja Lahbib, 54, who had been foreign minister since July 2022, preferred him.
