Political tensions remain high in Dour where the municipal council met once more this Thursday evening. Local elected officials had to look into the finances of the sports center, some of whose operations seemed illicit. After having set up a working group, during the previous municipal council, it was time for the report this Thursday. The conclusions of the auditor appointed in the context of this case will now be sent to the public prosecutor.
Compiling a report was not an easy task for the working group, which had to deal with numerous missing invoices. “A working group had been set up following a request from Councilor Patrick Poli”, indicates Carlo Di Antonio, mayor of Dour. “The working group worked quickly to appoint a reviewer. A first meeting then took place. All the elements were gathered there but, unfortunately, a series of invoices dated before 2020 were missing. A complaint was therefore filed with the police to report this lack of invoices. The working group then submitted its report to the reviewer, who analyzed everything. ”
In his findings, the reviewer reveals in particular that a dozen invoices from a private non-profit organization ended up in the invoices from the sports center. “A series of invoices were not in the correct file. Some of them were made up with tipex and other”, adds Carlo Di Antonio. In total, therefore, between 3,000 and 6,000 euros of public money would have been used for private purposes between 2021 and 2022.
A situation deemed unacceptable for local elected officials, determined to shed light on this case. “Even if the amounts may seem derisory for a municipality, they are much less so for most citizens. In total, we are still talking regarding 15 to 20,000 euros. No matter the amount, public money must not be embezzled under any circumstances”, Carlo Di Antonio thundered.
To this end, all the documents will be sent to the public prosecutor. The latter will designate an investigator who will have to clarify all the gray points of the file.
However, the auditor’s conclusions were not limited to this first problem of invoices paid at taxpayers’ expense. A second point of shadow concerned the non-respect of an agreement made between the non-profit organization SOSE and the sports centre. The third point finally concerned a telephone subscription contract made in the name of the president of the sports center… without his agreement.
Absent from the municipal council for health reasons, Patrick Poli nevertheless sent answers to the members of the latter following the formal notice from SOSE asbl and the conclusions of the auditor. On the one hand, he denounces “hostage of the non-profit organization SOSE within the framework of a settling of accounts between politicians. “He then recalls that his motives are solely”to pass on the passion for sport to children. ”
As part of the reviewer’s conclusions, Patrick Poli, through his lawyer, indicates in particular “that many problematic invoices were made before it was in place.” He also adds “that some receipts were cut into several parts to be able to place them in the folder. All the pieces are present. ”
His counterpart, Pierre Carton added during the municipal council this evening “that the will of everyone is to advance the investigation to designate the real responsible. By calling on a lawyer, Patrick intends to contribute to the progress of the investigation. We would also like all the documents transmitted by Patrick Poli to also be given to the king’s prosecutor. ”
A request accepted unanimously by the municipal council. Unanimity was also obtained during the nominative vote to denounce the facts to the king’s prosecutor. The latter will, in the coming days, be in possession of all the documents. He will then take care of shedding light on this affair.
