Elections 2024: Vlaams Belang MP decides not to stand following China spying scandal
Vlaams Belang MP Steven Creyelman, whose brother Frank, a former MP, is suspected of having been paid by China to influence Belgian politics, will not stand in the federal elections on 9 June, the far-right party announced in a statement on Thursday evening.
The public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation against Frank Creyelman in December following information from State Security and an investigation by journalists from Le Monde, the Financial Times and Der Spiegel. He was suspected of having been bribed by a Chinese spy to exert influence on behalf of Beijing and was expelled from the party.
His brother Steven, who is still an MP, was also named in the dossier, but the party says he was wrongly named. He was due to run in fourth place on the Vlaams Belang list for the Chamber in East Flanders. While he maintains his innocence, he has decided to no longer stand in June as a result of the “unjustified media storm”.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
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