In the case of Belgium’s Princess Claire and Prince Laurent, who were victims of phishing in early 2022 and lost over €17,000, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has sought prison sentences in a case of computer fraud and money laundering.
Part of the stolen sum was used to make payments at a nightclub in Spain. For one of the defendants, who was represented by lawyer Walter Damen, the prosecution is seeking an acquittal following further investigation.
On 23 December 2021, Princess Claire received a text message purporting to be from Card Stop, stating that her bank card needed to be blocked. As she had lost her bank card a few days earlier, the message seemed credible to the princess.
Via the link in the message, she was directed to a fake website, where she carried out various steps to verify her identity. When she became suspicious, she closed the website, but on 4 January 2022, she found she could no longer carry out any transactions with her bank cards.
After contacting the bank, it emerged that she had fallen victim to cyber fraud.
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In total, more than 17,000 euros were debited from the accounts of Princess Claire and Prince Laurent, both from their personal account and from three accounts over which Princess Claire had power of attorney.
The investigation revealed that the money was transferred to various Belgian accounts between 1 and 4 January 2022. Part of the stolen money was subsequently used to make payments at a nightclub and at Fnac in Marbella, Spain.
Through telephone investigations, detectives established that the phishing message had been sent by the defendant J.Y. Further banking investigations, telephone analyses, house searches and the examination of mobile phones led to a total of five other defendants who are standing trial for computer fraud and money laundering.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, they made their bank accounts available to receive and launder the fraudulently obtained funds.
During the hearing of the case in April, the defendant J.Y. burst into tears in court and vehemently denied the charges. On Monday, J.Y. was not present at the hearing herself and was represented by criminal defence lawyer Walter Damen.
“It has had a severe impact on my client,” said Damen. “She hasn’t slept a wink for six months. She didn’t feel up to coming to court today either. However, I don’t understand why she was prosecuted in the first place. The telephone number was registered in her name, but not even at her address. This should have been investigated more thoroughly before the summons was issued. We are, however, pleased that the public prosecutor’s office is now seeking an acquittal after all.”
“We have learnt that phishing often involves (stolen) telephone numbers that are actually completely unrelated to the crime,” said the prosecutor. “In this case, there are no other elements to suggest that J.Y. has anything to do with this matter. I therefore request an acquittal for her.”
The Public Prosecutor’s Office is seeking a 15-month prison sentence for the ringleader, M.C. For the other four defendants, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is seeking 12-month prison sentences. For L.D., the only defendant present at the hearing, a community service order could also be considered.
The verdict will be handed down on 26 October.
