Civil servant ’embezzles EUR 1 million’

15 December 2004

BRUSSELS – A Belgian civil servant has been detained for suspected fraud worth up to EUR one million.

The home and office of Raymond B, a civil servant working for the French-speaking community, was searched on Tuesday morning to the surprise of colleagues who suspected nothing.

He is believed to have been defrauding the public purse for his own personal profit since 1998.

According to the prosecutor’s spokeswoman, Estelle Arpigny, EUR 40 000 is confirmed to have gone missing but this sum could rise to EUR one million.

The first figure only applies to 2003 and 2004 but the fraud is reported to have started several years earlier.

Fears are growing that the money will never be recovered as it was used for private purchases of luxury items like a car and a horse.

Suspicions are also rising that the case is not isolated as Raymond B has already indicated he was not operating alone.

[Copyright Expatica 2004]

Subject: Belgian news