Jacobus Perdaems, owner of the well-known Frituur N°1 in Antwerp, was sentenced on Friday to three years in prison for tax fraud.
The Antwerp correctional court found it proven that the Dutchman had kept over €1 million of his chip shop income out of the accounts to pay less tax.
Jacobus Perdaems opened Frituur N°1 in the early 1980s, near the Grote Markt in Antwerp. Customers could only pay in cash there, and later, he also refused to introduce the electronic cash register.
The Dutchman amassed a considerable fortune but did not declare a large portion of his income to the tax authorities.
Employee Maria V. helped him generate undeclared income for years. She gave extensive statements regarding their methods.
The woman was found guilty but received a suspended sentence from the court. A courier who had delivered envelopes containing cash to Perdaems's residence in Spain was sentenced to a fine of €16,000, half of which was suspended.
The court imposed a suspended fine of €8,000 on the company behind the chip shop. A fifth defendant was acquitted.
Jacobus Perdaems could no longer count on any leniency. The Dutchman had been summoned by the tax authorities multiple times in the past, but persisted in tax fraud.
In March 2023, the Antwerp Court of Appeal already sentenced him to one year in prison and a €6,000 fine, both suspended, as well as an eight-year ban from holding management positions. An amount of €3,149,000 was confiscated at that time.
On Friday, he was sentenced to three years of effective imprisonment, a €80,000 fine, and a twenty-year professional ban.
Perdaems, his company, and Maria V. must pay the Belgian State nearly €184,000 in evaded VAT for the period 2016–2022, as well as a fine of nearly €92,000.
