Former European Commissioner Didier Reynders is under investigation on suspicion of money laundering of money, Belgian media reported, citing a statement from the prosecutor's office. Reinders' home was searched yesterday, two days after he left the European Commission.
It is said that the former European Commissioner has been questioned by the police, but cannot be detained because he is under investigation for possible crimes during his years in the EC and in the Belgian government. It is clarified that the immunity he had at the time should apply in such an investigation.
According to the exported data, suspicious actions were detected, which may have led to the accumulation of a significant amount of money. Reinders allegedly bought lottery tickets worth between €1 and €100 and paid for them in cash, then transferred the value of the tickets to an electronic account at the national lottery. From this account, the suspect directed the amounts to a bank account, the investigation shows.
Reinders has been the European Commissioner for Justice for the past five years, and before that he was successively Minister of Finance, Foreign Affairs and Defense after 1999. Reynders was twice rejected as a candidate for Secretary General of the Council of Europe.