New political scandal in Brussels. Belgian authorities are investigating former Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders for money laundering. As reported by the newspaper Le Soirthe police searched his home on Tuesday in one of the most affluent areas of the capital and took a statement from him as part of an investigation for having used winning lottery tickets to allegedly launder thousands of euros.
Reynders, who is known in Spain for being the commissioner who was first pressured by the PP to maintain the blockade of the Judiciary and then for having mediated the agreement that was finally sealed by Minister Félix Bolaños and the conservative leader Esteban González Pons, left his position. as commissioner on Saturday, when the mandate of the outgoing College of Commissioners expired. The Belgian Government proposed the then Foreign Minister, Hadja Lahbib, as the new commissioner.
The search and interrogation of the liberal politician, whom the PP also pressured to reject the amnesty law, occurred this Tuesday morning, just 48 hours after leaving office. The investigation into the alleged money laundering dates back to 2023, according to the Belgian press.
What investigators suspect is that the laundering occurred since Reynders was minister (first he was of Finance between 1999 and 2011 and then of Foreign Affairs, between 2011 and 2019) and continued until at least last year, when he was still commissioner and the one in charge of ensuring compliance with the rule of law in the EU.
Given that the events occurred when he was minister, Reynders enjoys immunity (when initiating criminal proceedings, for example, although he can be questioned by the police in a prior phase) and its lifting would require the approval of Parliament.
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