Two associates of Didier Reynders charged in money laundering investigation
Two associates of former Belgian minister and European Commissioner Didier Reynders have been charged in the money laundering investigation for which Reynders was already charged earlier. They are Jean-Claude Fontinoy, former chairman of railway operator SNCB/NMBS, and antique dealer Olivier Theunissen, who were previously involved in the investigation.
Until now, only Reynders himself had been charged in the investigation. Jean-Claude Fontinoy, former right-hand man of Didier Reynders and former chairman of the SNCB/NMBS, and Olivier Theunissen, antique dealer from the Sablon district of Brussels, have now also been charged in the money laundering investigation.
This has been confirmed by attorney general Frédéric Van Leeuw to the investigative media outlet “Nationale 4”. Reynders' immediate circle is thus also coming under the scrutiny of the judicial authorities.
Former minister and European Commissioner Didier Reynders came under scrutiny for allegedly laundering nearly one million euros of dubious origin. In 2023, ING bank alerted the anti-money laundering unit CFI about suspicious cash deposits made by the former minister until 2018, over a period of ten years. He is also suspected of having bought scratch cards for years to launder money, the origin of which has not yet been clarified.
In June 2025, two addresses linked to Olivier Theunissen were searched, including an art gallery in Regentschapsstraat in Brussels and his home in the village of Lasne in Walloon Brabant. According to Nationale 4, Jean-Claude Fontinoy regularly bought works of art and antiques from dealers in the Sablon district of Brussels.
Didier Reynders © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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