Leading figure in Buildings Agency corruption trial gets 18 months

One of the main suspects in the corruption case involving the federal government’s Buildings Agency has been sentenced to 18 months in prison by the Brussels Court of Appeal. Raphael Engels was given a two-year suspended sentence last April and appealed. The Court of Appeals earlier handed down tougher sentences to others accused in the same case.

The Buildings Agency manages all of the real estate in the government’s possession, as well as administers rented property. The case concerned agency officials who used their position to demand kick-backs from private sector contractors who carried out work on government buildings.

The contractor would inflate the price for the works, which would be approved by agency officials. The surplus portion would then be paid back to the official in question.

Officials, the original trial heard, also received gifts such as expensive meals, holidays and works carried out for free on their own properties. Engels, whose portfolio included the Brussels Justice Palace (pictured), was considered one of the key figures in what the lower court described as “a criminal conspiracy” and “an institutionalised system of fraud and corruption”. He was sentenced to 18 months without suspension and fined €200,000.

Photo: Romainberth/Wikimedia