The Belgian state estimates that it suffered a loss of 25 million euros in the Jeroen Piqueur tax case, this being its entitlement in damages. Piqueur, the former boss of Optima Bank is being tried in the Ghent Criminal Court today (Friday) for large-scale tax fraud. The barrister Dirk Martens indicated that the trial is taking place when talking this morning.
The case is separate from the criminal investigation around the practices of Optima Bank and the possible role played by Piqueur in effecting them.
In this particular case, Mr Piqueur is on trial for potential crimes which may have taken place between August 2007 and October 2013, well before the bank’s liquidation.
He is suspected of non-declaration of income from accounts in Luxembourg and Monaco, which were held within offshore structures, for Piqueur himself as their sole beneficiary.
The Brussels Times
