The Antwerp Council Chamber has decided to send former Flemish MP Sihame El Kaouakibi to the criminal court for committing subsidy fraud with her non-profit organisation Let’s Go Urban.
"The charges for which parliamentary immunity has been lifted are forgery and subsidy fraud," said prosecution spokesperson Kristof Aerts. The organisation and El Kaouakibi’s partner will also face the court, according to the Antwerp Prosecutor’s Office.
The alleged fraud involves a total amount of €590,000, with €270,000 lost to the city of Antwerp and €320,000 to the Flemish Community.
"For other charges mentioned in the investigation, it was decided not to pursue them, or the investigation has been closed," Aerts added.
Sihame El Kaouakibi, her partner, and the non-profit can still appeal. If they do not, a preliminary hearing could be scheduled by the end of the year.
The case emerged in 2021 following an internal audit at Let’s Go Urban. The ex-Open VLD MP allegedly redirected subsidies obtained for the association to other projects. The Antwerp Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation in February 2021.
The non-profit association declared bankruptcy in June 2021. Other projects, including the recruitment platform WannaWork and the communication agency WannaCatch, also went bankrupt. The Belgian State, the Flemish Community, the City of Antwerp, and the receivers of Let’s Go Urban and Point Urban have declared themselves civil parties in the case.
