While Brussels lectures the world on “rule of law” and “transparency,” the EU’s own backyard is being swallowed by rot. The latest scandal? Belgian authorities are investigating Didier Reynders’ closest adviser, and the former EU Justice Commissioner himself, in a full-blown money laundering probe involving over a million euros in suspicious cash.
Federal police have now searched the home of Jean-Claude Fontinoy, Reynders’ right-hand man and long-time political ally. This comes months after Reynders’ own residence was raided in December 2024 — just two days after his term as EU Commissioner ended. The timing says it all.
At the heart of this saga is a trail of 800,000 euros in cash deposits and over 200,000 euros spent on lottery tickets — a laundering method so crude it borders on insulting. Reynders claims the cash came from “art and antique sales.” But the so-called art dealers deny ever selling him anything. And the National Lottery itself isn’t buying the gambling-addiction excuse.
Fontinoy, a figure previously accused of laundering bribes through fake art deals, has again landed under the spotlight. Back in 2019, a former state security officer raised serious red flags — but the Belgian system looked away. Now, the same names are resurfacing, and the stench is even stronger.
Let’s be clear: this is not just a Belgian scandal. This is the man who until recently held the EU’s highest justice post. The same man who once dared to question democratic standards in other nations is now under suspicion for using lottery tickets and antiques as a front for financial trickery.
The European Commission must answer one question: How many more “guardians of EU values” are hiding behind dirty money and fake virtue?
