The Belgian National Lottery has responded to criticism that has arisen since it emerged that the former European Commissioner Didier Reynders (Francophone liberal) is under investigation on suspicion of having used National Lottery products to lauder money. The National Lottery says that it has “Honoured its legal obligations and that it reported the abnormal level of participation in our games to the relevant authorities”. The National Lottery says that the suspected money laundering by Mr Reynders came to light after two accounts displayed “highly exceptional” behaviour.
National Lottery responds to criticism that has arisen as a result of the Reynders case
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The investigation into suspected money laundering by Didier Reynders came hit the headlines last week. Over a period of many years Mr Reynders is alleged to have purchased National Lottery products to launder money. The winnings were transferred to his bank accounts as “clean” money.
Questions were raised in the Federal Parliament about the efficiency of the control procedures used by the National Lottery. The National Lottery responds by saying that such questions were “unwarranted attacks” on its reputation.
Abnormal behaviour
In a 12-page press release, the National Lottery states that as early as 2022 it reported that “abnormal” levels of transactions could have been an indication of possible money laundering to the relevant authorities. This was done after very thorough checks had been carried out.
As early as 2021, the National Lottery noticed that one of its outlets had sold remarkably large numbers of e-vouchers. An investigation followed, which determined that most of those tickets could be linked to two player accounts These accounts belong to someone with a “politically sensitive identity”.
The consultancy KPMG was commissioned to investigate the matter further. Following this, the Lottery reported its findings to the federal prosecutor's office in March 2022.
"Always offered our full cooperation"
The Lottery says that it has "always cooperated fully with the investigation” However, it was unable to close the accounts or bar the sale of e-vouchers to them as this could possibly have hampered the criminal investigation.
Moreover, it is impossible for the National Lottery to verify whether e-vouchers are purchased in cash or not at points of sale as these transactions do not go through its system. The National Lottery goes on to say that it has many regulations in place to ensure that money laundering is made particularly difficult. For instance, players are required to have their identity verified through their national register number or the Itsme app when they open an online account.
There is also a maximum limit of 500 euro per week and winnings must be transferred to the person’s own bank account if they win more than 500 euro or more.
Highly exceptional
The Didier Reynders case is “highly exceptional”, according to the Lottery. The politician played within the playing limits and his behaviour only aroused suspicion because it persisted for such a long time. Mr Reynders’ accounts are just 2 out of a total of 2 million National Lottery accounts. The 2 accounts were opened in the name of Mr Reynders and his wife. As the Lottery didn’t intervene the accounts continued to be used even after the investigation had been opened. As the annual limit per account is 25,000 euro the total amount deposited onto the two accounts would have been up to 200,000 euro over 4 years.
Didier Reynders has refrained from commenting on the case but did let it be known through his lawyer last week that he takes issue with the way the case is being treated as a criminal investigation. Mr Reynders has not yet officially been charged with any offence.