The Antwerp Correctional Court has convicted a 43-year-old former employee of the Federal Finance Department for looking up the private data of at least 25 people and passing it on to criminals.
Nathalie D.P. was sentenced to 30 months in prison, of which 20 months were suspended. She was also fined €24,000, of which €16,000 was suspended. Further, the court seized €5,000 in illegally obtained assets from her.
The facts came to light last year during an investigation into the cracked messaging service Sky ECC. Intercepted messages from a group chat revealed that people in the criminal world were looking for someone who could get hold of the private data of certain persons.
One of the participants reported that he knew someone and asked for €500 per search. Later, screenshots were shared of tax sheets, clearly made by someone within the Finance Department. That is how Nathalie D.P., who had worked at the Finance Department in Antwerp for 21 years, came into the picture.
The participant in the Sky ECC chat turned out to be her ex-partner, Larbi K. (46). Further investigation of the seized cellphones, among other things, revealed that she had been doing searches for him since 2015 and that she asked him for money each time.
She also searched for private data for her childhood friend Foad R. (45) and for José F.G. She had a fourth client, but he could not be identified.
The court sentenced Larbi K. to 30 months in prison, of which 20 months were suspended, and €24,000 in fines, of which €16,000 was suspended. He was also made to give up €5,000 in illegal gains.
Foad R. and José F.G. received prison terms of 15 and 12 months respectively and a €4,000 fine each.
