Some 1,530 suspects in large Belgian cases have been allowed to buy off their prosecution since the commutation law came into effect in 2011.
In total, the suspects paid €1.085 billion in deals that are anything but transparent, reported De Tijd, Knack and Le Soir, who teamed up with the international consortium of investigative journalists ICIJ to conduct the investigation.
Extended amicable settlements have been possible since May 2011 in larger cases in which an investigating judge has been appointed. Settlements are possible for a range of crimes, but the majority of deals seem to take place in tax fraud cases where tax authorities in which tax authorities have already been paid €407.5 million.
Nine in ten (1,385) "expanded amicable settlements" that the Public Prosecution reached with suspects are kept secret. More often than not, the amount that the suspect pays to keep a clean criminal record is undisclosed. Well-known criminal files abruptly end because a deal is suddenly reached even if it is shrouded in secrecy.
Some suspects have been able to buy off criminal cases that were worth millions.
More transparency
Investigating judge Philippe Van Linthout of the Association of Investigating Judges called for more transparency regarding the amounts of money eventually settled on. He also pointed out that suspects who reach amicable settlements don't officially admit guilt.
"We should consider insisting that the person who settles not only admits a 'fault' but also their 'guilt'," he said in De Tijd. "If someone drives through a red light, they should not be able to exploit legal loopholes to deny their guilt."
Brussels public prosecutor Johan Delmulle agreed on the need for more transparency: "It is often part of the deal that a party wants the amount paid not to appear in the press," he told De Tijd. "If the final settlements were published for cases that are in the public interest that could demystify the extended amicable settlements and would make the system more socially acceptable."
