Prince Laurent accused of Fraud

[Marengo]

Wasn't this sort of discussed during the wedding ceremony by father Gilbert? He mentioned the strained relationship between Laurent and his parents and how they came closer to each other again (I recall something that the son was waiting outside, his father would put a whilte bow around a tree if he could come in. The son was anxious but then he noticed that every tree in the park had a white bow).
I believe that Laurent and Queen paola actually became emotional during this part of the sermon.

[bbb]

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/...ium_Royals.php

http://www.expatica.com/actual/artic...story_id=35037

very odd circumstances, i hope it's all a big deal for nothing

[BMC]

I agree with Alisa, it seems very strange that Laurent would not know where the extra money to fix his property & pay his other bills came from, or that he didn't ask where it came from if he found out about it.

However, innocent until proven guilty!

[Marengo]

I fear the situation of Laurent is worsening. I read in a dutch newspaper today that more people say the prince knew about the fraud. Some claimed that they discussed the renovations (400.000 euros) at the princes diningroom while they ate pasta (on 3 different occassions).

The King already stated in his christmas speech that nobody stands above the law, a remark that prime minister Verhofstad made to.

I am now watching the programme 'Ter Zake' on the flemish television and the programme is also saying that the situation of the prince is getting worse. A environmental organisation in which Laurent is involved ios checked to see if the Prince used funds for personal things to, whioch most probably is not the case.

[Alisa]

That doesn't sound good at all. I truly hope that he's innocent of all the accusations and that it will all be cleared up quickly.Thanks for sharing Marengo.

[sara1981]

Prince Laurent consults lawyer
http://www.expatica.com/actual/artic...story_id=35369

Prince Laurent consults lawyer
http://www.flandersnews.be/cm/flande...sults%2Blawyer

[crm2317]

This is not good at all. I am only just reading about this now. Is it for definate that Laurent is involved. Does he face jail time and if so ho much? I wonder if the marriage will withstand the test i hope so for the sake of their young children

[princess olga]

Originally Posted by Marengo

I fear the situation of Laurent is worsening. I read in a dutch newspaper today that more people say the prince knew about the fraud. Some claimed that they discussed the renovations (400.000 euros) at the princes diningroom while they ate pasta (on 3 different occassions).

The King already stated in his christmas speech that nobody stands above the law, a remark that prime minister Verhofstad made to.

I am now watching the programme 'Ter Zake' on the flemish television and the programme is also saying that the situation of the prince is getting worse. A environmental organisation in which Laurent is involved ios checked to see if the Prince used funds for personal things to, whioch most probably is not the case.

I'll tell you all one thing and that is, I will choose to believe in Laurent's innocence until proven guilty.

here's why. I have always rooted for this particular prince, because he is one of the few royals who have made it their mission to come to the defense of the most defenseless creatures on our human-dominated planet: animals.

Perhaps his efforts to defend the rights of animals stems from him having been so misunderstood for the best part of his life. This is why I have always had a soft spot for this prince.

Although I have to say that there's always been a certain, je ne sais quois quality about him, something dubious, that I could just never put my finger on. Maybe this is it, that he is on the one hand a morally correct person when it comes to one aspect, animal rights, but 'morally flexible', shall we say, on the other hand. Kind of a la Dutch prince Bernhard, who was one of the founders of the World Wildlife Fund but at the same time accepted bribes from the business world and sired off spring outside of his marriage.

Sorry for the long message, bt I hope very strongly that somehow Laurent is innocent.

[Marengo]

King Albert II signed a royal decree a couple of days ago, which enables Laurent to be heard as a witness at court in this case.

And Olga: I have a soft spot for the Prince to, he has had a difficult time, both with the rediculisation of his charities and within the family to. I strongly hope this will all turn out for the best.

[martha-louise]

It's a process about fraud in de Belgian Marine. There are 3 men accused. One of them is a former advisor of the prince, and another is a old schoolmate who had a high position in the marine.
Now the advisor wants Laurent as a WITNESS (because his advisor says that Laurent had knowledge of the fraud). There is no question wether Laurent is guilty or not.
Of course this damages the image of the whole royal family...

[Marengo]

This was posted by 'Sal' on the Benelux Royals MB. As the post is rather interesting and clear I decided to repost it here:

In the Belgian town Hasselt the trial starts today (monday) about fraude case, where money is supposed to have been used for the villa of Belgian prince Laurent.
One of twelve suspects has summoned the prince as a whitness.
The judge has yet to decide if the prince really has to answer questions, possibly under oath. The question is if the prince knew that the gifts he received originated from the alleged fraude.
The suspects, one of them a former advisor of the prince, are accused of embezzling 2 million euros ($ 2.6 million) from the Belgian navy in the nineties of the last century.
The money was used the renovate private buildings, one of them being the house of the prince in the village of Tervueren, near Brussels.
It has become a high profile case in Belgium but there is also much attention in the Dutch media.
There is much discussion about the income of the prince. He gets € 300.000 a year from the Belgian government. The leader of the Christian Democrats, Yves Leterme, has said that he feels that the prince has to get a job like the princes in The Netherlands where only the crownprince and his wife get a dotation from the state.
The socialist party wants to change the law so that members of the royal house always can be heard by the police. Now a special decree of the king is needed.

[flcty]

I just heard about the case here in Victoria, Australia on the radio this morning (the 7:30 news update).

[Marengo]

Apparently Laurent is not requered to witness as the court summoned him to late. Of course if he does not show up he will be summoned again and has to go there later.

Today the main suspect (Vaessen) pointed the finger to others and stated that the Prince must have known that the money which was used for Villa Clementine was fraudulous money. And he again claimed that there were three dinners at the villa of the Prince.

[princess olga]

Originally Posted by martha-louise

There is no question wether Laurent is guilty or not.

You mean the consensus is he is guilty? Even in Belgium, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If you mean he's just going to testify as an add-on to the trial of these others, that would be still a tricky situation for Laurent.

Again, I choose to believe in his innocence until proven otherwise. It IS possible, after all, that he sincerely didn't realize where the money for the gifts came from.

[princess olga]

Originally Posted by Marengo

King Albert II signed a royal decree a couple of days ago, which enables Laurent to be heard as a witness at court in this case.

And Olga: I have a soft spot for the Prince to, he has had a difficult time, both with the rediculisation of his charities and within the family to. I strongly hope this will all turn out for the best.

I can't imagine this is good for Laurent's relationship vis a vis his family. Poor thing.
First they -his parents? or his siblings? - call an exorcist on him (if that story is true, which is not certain), I mean, WHO is the eccentric here?!
Thinking your child is 'posessed by the devil' because he's different from the rest, my gosh! That's behavior from the middle ages, if you ask me. Quite dubious for a king and queen in any case. I never had a soft spot for Paola anyways. Although more gorgeous than anyone else on the royal field, her lack of effort in learning the Dutch language is telling in my opinion.

Sometimes I think it's a good thing we don't know what's <really> going on behind these royals doors, or else we'd collectively kick them out!

[sara1981]

Belgian Prince may be heard as a witness
http://www.expatica.com/actual/artic...story_id=35398

[Marengo]

Laurent knew that the money for the interior of his house came from the navy./ The Prince was questioned unexpectedly yesterday evening by the federal police. Mr Vaessen (main suspect of the embezzlement) was appointed by the King to help Laurent with the misery of his unfurnished villa Clementine in Tervuren.

Just some articles in Dutch or French by the Belgian newspapers:
Het Gazet van Antwerpen
Het Nieuwsblad
De Standaard
Le Soir
La Libre Belgique
La Demi Heure

According to Dutch newspaper 'De Telegraaf' the Prince arrived this morning with his Smart-car at the court in Hasselt. According to their printed newspaper the Walloon-Flanders differences become clear even in this matter, a majority of the Walloons support the Prince and think he is innocent while the majority of the Flemmish do not and they at least think the Prince should be scrapped from the civil listr and work for a living, like the sons of the Dutch Queen.

[Marengo]

The procureur of Hasselt who interviewed Laurent on monday has released a report about the statements of the Prince. The Prince said he was under the impression that the funds he received were legitimate and he said he trusted his advisor Noel Vaessen completely.

[Avalon]

Prince Laurent arrives at the Hasselt Court after being called up as a witness in a fraud trial at the Belgian Royal Navy on January 9, 2007 in Hasselt, Belgium. The Prince, youngest son of King Albert II, has been ruled by a Belgium judge to have to testify in the trial of 12 people accused of taking 2.9 million USD, allegedly from the navy's budget.

Pictures:
Prince Laurent
Prince Laurent with his lawyer


More pictures from getty here.

[princess olga]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Laurent knew that the money for the interior of his house came from the navy./ The Prince was questioned unexpectedly yesterday evening by the federal police. Mr Vaessen (main suspect of the embezzlement) was appointed by the King to help Laurent with the misery of his unfurnished villa Clementine in Tervuren.

Just some articles in Dutch or French by the Belgian newspapers:
Het Gazet van Antwerpen
Het Nieuwsblad
De Standaard
Le Soir
La Libre Belgique
La Demi Heure

According to Dutch newspaper 'De Telegraaf' the Prince arrived this morning with his Smart-car at the court in Hasselt. According to their printed newspaper the Walloon-Flanders differences become clear even in this matter, a majority of the Walloons support the Prince and think he is innocent while the majority of the Flemmish do not and they at least think the Prince should be scrapped from the civil listr and work for a living, like the sons of the Dutch Queen.

So Laurent is basically saying: "I trusted the advisor because after all, he was appointed by my father, the king."? If he's not innocent, very clever answer.