The Belgian government has played a role in financing Libyan militias involved in human trafficking cases, according to a Belgian television investigation, based on a week-long investigation that gathered exclusive information.
He pointed out that the frozen assets of the regime of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Belgian banks have been transferred to militias, quoting a source close to the Belgian intelligence.
According to the investigation, the civil war in Libya led to a major irregular migration crisis and considered that the role of Belgium was not neutral in this case: "Seven years ago we notice that the factions of the Libyan militias were able to obtain all the necessary weapons, In public, but they got weapons by other means, and there is one or two scandal linked to the aircraft that stopped at the Belgian airport Ostend and inside the weapons. "
To understand the issue, an article published on the Belgian television website RTVF said that by the end of 2011, following the killing of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the UN Security Council had frozen Libyan stocks and bonds. In Belgium, Libyan assets were frozen in four banks.
Under the UN resolution, 12.8 billion euros were frozen at Euroclear, 869 million euros at KBC, 376 million euros at ING, 43 million euros BNP Paribas Fortis in Belgium in 2011.
According to the same source, it was revealed that the Libyan funds were not frozen, and since 2012 was handed over funds between three billion euros and five billion ($ 3.45-5.75 billion) of the benefits and profits of the assets frozen to the Gaddafi regime in banks.
| Minister Reinders's name is repeated more than once during the Belgian television investigation (Reuters) |
Critical situation
Although the investigation said no one knew what had happened to the funds, a UN report published in September said Belgium was in a critical position.
"In this report, we saw that there was a problem in the arms trade to finance the armed factions. There is a whole market aimed at bringing in illegal immigrants and involving Nigerian women in prostitution networks," said Robert Watterwalg, professor emeritus at the University of Oklauvan. It is a mafia gang but it relies on questionable militias, especially as it receives external funding.
The investigation indicates that Belgian parliamentarians have called on the government more than once to answer questions on the issue.
"Every time we ask ministers, we find few answers about the sums and the reasons," says Rep. George Dalman. This is a very serious problem, and Belgium's reputation is polluted and referred to as the finger of accusation. "
For his part, MP George Gilkinet believes that the Belgian government deliberately complicates the file for not giving information, and is behind the decisions taken at the European level.
The investigation indicates that the name of former Finance Minister and current Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Renders appears frequently in interviews conducted by the Task Force. "In Belgium, we were obliged to respect the UN commitment, but in 2011 we agreed to release the benefits of these funds. Hundreds of millions of euros were redistributed. Nobody knows where or why. We know only that Minister Rainers Time had the power to make decisions. "
It is noteworthy that the European Commission confirmed - in March - that it does not have information on part of the Libyan funds frozen in Belgium, and used to finance the activities of armed formations in the country.