Over 7,500 businesses in Brussels have dissolved in five years, signifying a possible shift away from criminal organisations infusing social fraud with money laundering from drug trafficking, L'Echo reports.
Several police and judicial sources have indicated that these criminal firms – which combine social fraud with money laundering from drug trafficking – are beginning to desert the Brussels-Capital Region. Many of them, however, are relocating their fraudulent operations to other parts of the country, mainly Flanders, to evade law enforcement pursuits.
"Those involved in the legal system are seeing that the hunt is on and these companies are moving out of Brussels. There are now far fewer networks domiciled in the capital," a magistrate told L'Echo.
In five years, the French-speaking business court has seen the dissolution of 7,533 companies. This figure is steadily increasing, with 2,313 dissolutions in 2019 alone. Similar trends have been observed at the Dutch-speaking court, with 760 companies dissolved in 2022, according to the latest available figures.
Economy 'must be protected'
The phenomenon of phantom companies transferring to Flemish or Walloon Brabant recently became apparent with the discovery of the addresses of over 400 fictitious companies in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw.
This trend follows a concerted effort since 2018 by a coalition of Brussels authorities under an operation named 'Company Dumping'.
"In 2019, this presented a monstrous problem in Brussels with approximately 10,000 phantom companies. The stock of these dormant companies is now very low," commented Paul Dhaeyer, President of the French-speaking business court in Brussels, adding that a phantom company is "not just about laundering drug money but also risks unfair competition."
"The Brussels economy and public finances must be protected from these fraudulent companies."
'Root of the problem'
The police are on the same wavelength. "All criminal groups use companies to carry out their activities. So we had to get to the root of the problem. This means we can deprive these groups of their facilitators through which they can, for example, use real estate or money transfers," explained Divisional Commissioner Alain De Proft.
"By joining forces, we can each reduce our workload. This enables the Federal Judicial Police in Brussels to target the most dangerous criminal organisations more effectively."
Criminal groups are acutely aware that it is more difficult to run a shell company in Brussels, added Divisional Commissioner Erik De Ryk of the Federal Judicial Police. "This creates a displacement effect and the judicial districts close to Brussels are therefore facing an increase in the number of these companies."
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However, the fight against money laundering is not limited to dissolutions. Other projects are underway, in particular the fight against dormant non-profits that may carry out commercial transactions.
"We are going after those that don't submit their accounts and we are calling them in en masse. Non-profits can be bought out for €500 to €1,000 and entrusted to front men," explains Pierre-Yves de Harven, President of the Chamber of companies in difficulty, which is part of the French-speaking business court.
In parallel with this, the Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office is also on the hunt for front men. These people are paid several thousand euros by criminal organisations to act as shadow directors of companies used for money laundering.
