Jean-Claude Fontinoy and Olivier Theunissen have been charged as part of a money-laundering investigation linked to former European Commissioner Didier Reynders.
The charges were confirmed by Brussels Prosecutor General Frédéric Van Leeuw, according to investigative media outlet Nationale 4. Until now, only Reynders was personally under investigation in this case.
Fontinoy, Reynders’ former close associate and ex-chairman of SNCB, and Theunissen, an antiques dealer from Sablon, are now directly implicated.
The investigation by the Court of Appeal has expanded to Reynders’ inner circle. All three individuals maintain the presumption of innocence.
Reynders, formerly of the MR party and European Commissioner for Justice until 2024, was charged in October 2025 with money laundering.
Deposits of large sums of cash he made over a ten-year period until 2018 had prompted ING Bank to alert Belgium’s Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTIF) in 2023.
He is also suspected of purchasing lottery tickets for years to launder funds with an unidentified source.
In June 2025, two properties linked to Theunissen, including an art gallery on Rue de la Régence in Brussels and his home in Lasne, were searched.
Reports suggest Fontinoy regularly bought artworks and antiques from Sablon dealers. Investigators are now examining suspected money laundering involving around one million euros.
