The robbery of a branch of the bank Crédit Agricole in the Brussels commune of Auderghem in 2014 contributed at least part of the funding for the murderous terror attacks in Paris in November 2015, Het Nieuwsblad reports. The allegation comes from the interrogation of another terrorist suspect currently in custody.
The attacks led to the deaths of 130 people, at a football match where three men detonated suicide bombs, and in central Paris, where other bombs went off and mass shootings took place. The terrorists took the audience at a concert at the Bataclan theatre hostage, killing 90 people. The attackers themselves were either killed by police or blew themselves up.
A direct link has already been drawn between the Paris attacks and a terrorist cell operating out of the Brussels commune of Molenbeek, where a number of terrorists responsible for both the Paris attacks and the explosions at Brussels Airport and Maalbeek metro (photo) in March 2016 were either based or passed through.
The robbery of Crédit Agricole, meanwhile, took place in June 2014, allegedly carried out by the El Bakraoui brothers Ibrahim and Khalid. Both men later died in the Brussels attacks – Ibrahim at Brussels Airport and Khalid on board the metro at Maalbeek.
According to the statement by the detained suspect, the takings from the robbery, estimated to be around €200,000, were used to finance the Paris attacks. However the case has been shelved since then for lack of evidence.
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times
