The Limburg Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into the Belgian Children's Cancer Support Fund (BKKS), a charity that raises money for families of children battling cancer, following complaints about transparency within the organisation.
According to VRT NWS, the investigation is directed at the non-profit organisation itself rather than its founder, Patrick Hubeau. Prosecutors are seeking to establish how the charity's financial flows are organised and managed.
The inquiry follows concerns raised by the Children's Cancer Fund, a separate organisation that says it has received regular complaints from members of the public who confuse the two charities.
"Because we have the impression that the non-profit is deliberately seeking out confusion, we filed a complaint with the police years ago," said Dierik Van den Meerssche, director of the Children's Cancer Fund.
"We receive monthly complaints about the conduct of that other non-profit from people who assume that it is us," he added.
Hubeau rejected the criticism, arguing that the Children's Cancer Fund fears losing donations to a rival organisation.
The investigation also casts renewed scrutiny on the charity's governance. Approval of its donation file by the Federal Public Service Finance has attracted attention because the organisation's former chairman and founder was subject to a court-imposed ban on serving as a director.
The ban was imposed after Hubeau was linked to 11 bankruptcies, several of which were considered potentially fraudulent.
The charity has also been criticised for failing for years to comply with statutory transparency obligations.
Court records further show that Hubeau owes €152,000 in unpaid taxes to the Federal Public Service Finance. In November 2023, the Antwerp Court of Appeal convicted him in relation to that case.
Hubeau has not served as chairman of the organisation since September 2024.
The prosecutor's investigation remains ongoing, and no charges have been announced.
