Two federal MPs from the Flemish nationalist party N-VA Michael Freilich and Peter De Roover have taken documents containing information related to alleged fraud at the Belgian post office Bpost and on the part of the Federal Government to the Public Prosecutor’s office in Brussels. The two MPs say that the documents "may indicate that criminal offences have been committed".
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Flemish nationalists take documents relating to alleged Bpost fraud to the Public Prosecutor
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The Bpost affair
An audit in mid-April revealed that illegal price agreements had been made for a contract to distribute daily newspapers to those with subscriptions. Bpost colluded with the newspaper distributor PPP and media companies DPG and Mediahuis in order to win the tender. In recent weeks the affair has taken on every increasing proportions. It has been revealed Federal Government paid too much for three other tenders too. The company is also alleged to have failed to respect the rules regarding tenders for consultancy assignments.
The Federal Minister responsible for Bpost (the state is the majority shareholder) Petra De Sutter (Flemish green) also came under fire when it emerged that two experts working for her as advisors had remained on Bpost's payroll.
Since then attention has shifted from Ms De Sutter to the close contacts between the prominent members of the Francophone socialist party PS and Bpost’s board.
The Flemish nationalist Federal MP Michael Freilich says that during his parliamentary investigation into possible malpractices at Bpost, he came across various factors that "could point to criminal offenses having been committed by the federal government, by federal ministers’ staff and at Bpost".
Mr Freilich and the leader of the Flemish nationalist group in the Federal Parliament Peter De Roover have taken the documents to the Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office. What information is contained in the documents is unclear.
However, the Flemish nationalists claim that the Federal Economy Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne (Francophone socialist) and Bpost were in cahoots regarding the awarding of government contracts. It is possible that confidential information was passed on to the postal company, giving it an advantage.
Mr Freilich told journalists that "Everything points to a sophisticated cover-up by Bpost’s Chairwoman Audrey Hanard and the Economy Minister Mr Dermagne. For example, the audit that Bpost had carried out by family and acquaintances of the persons involved, is not being shared with parliament, despite our repeated requests to let us see it. What is there to hide, and why did Minister Dermagne receive a copy? Why did Mr Dermagne not file a complaint against Bpost or Ms Hanard when they tried to influence the tender procedure for the newspaper contract?"
The Flemish nationalists say that the Federal Government is currently far too vague and should work much more closely with parliament to investigate the matter. This afternoon, Bpost chairman Audrey Hanard will be questioned by MPs in the Federal Parliament.