King repays defence for fraud

6 March 2007

BRUSSELS – Some 185,000 euro of the king’s “civiele lijst” or remuneration will be given to the defence department. This amount equals the “unjustified enrichment” that Prince Laurent gained from fraud involving navy invoices.

Both parties insist this is not an admission of any responsibility on the part of either Prince Laurent or the Royal Fund.

The amount was set at 185,000 euro “after an investigation of the internal bookkeeping data of the defence department for the period since 1993 and on the basis of reports from court experts.”

“In order to comply with the king’s wishes as quickly as possible, the fund has decided to make a gift of 185,000 euro to the defence department,” said the press release.

That amount will first be used to finance building costs for changes to homes of defence personnel who have fallen victim to work-related accidents.

The king’s “civiele lijst” is the remuneration that the king receives in order to be able to perform his function entirely independently. The remuneration includes an endowment of funds and gives the king the right to use the royal buildings.

Subject: Belgian news