The Leuven Public Prosecutor’s Office is seeking up to 15 months’ imprisonment for four people accused of defrauding Prince Laurent, King Filip’s brother, and his half-British wife Princess Claire. The couple, who live in Tervuren (Flemish Brabant), fell victim to a phishing scam in 2021. More than 17,000 euros was withdrawn from their accounts.
Fraudsters stole over 17,000 euros from Prince Laurent and Princess Claire in phishing scam
Colin Clapson
Published:
In December 2021, Princess Claire received a message on her mobile phone, purportedly from Cardstop. She had lost her bank card a few days earlier. A link took her to a fake website, where she was asked to verify her identity. A few days later, she realised she could no longer make any payments. It subsequently emerged that Princess Claire and Prince Laurent had fallen victim to a phishing scam.
A total of 17,776 euros was withdrawn from their accounts. Money disappeared from their personal and household accounts, as well as from the account into which Prince Laurent receives his allowance.
Perpetrators operated from Spain
The police investigation revealed that the message had been sent from a phone registered to a woman from Antwerp. According to her lawyer, her identity card had been stolen and was allegedly used to set up a mobile phone number. The public prosecutor’s office is not seeking any sentence for her.
The money was used to make payments at a nightclub and a shop in Marbella. The perpetrators are therefore thought to be operating from Spain. The public prosecutor’s office has not yet managed to map out the entire network.
On Monday, four people appeared in court. Their bank accounts had been used to channel the money. The public prosecutor’s office sought a 15-month prison sentence for one man and a 12-month prison sentence for the other three. The verdict will be handed down on 26 October.