The Bureau of the Walloon Parliament had summoned for a hearing, this Monday, March 6, Frédéric Janssens, the clerk of Parliament, suspended from office since September 15. The hearing was held at an undisclosed location. This should have been seen as an indication of the great tension surrounding this file. The Bureau of Parliament obviously wanted to avoid procedural flaws while the taking of sanctions was at stake.
So far, for almost six months, the clerk Frédéric Janssens was sidelined but still received his salary of around 9000 euros net per month and enjoyed other benefits.
Since mid-September, a judicial investigation has been opened. It relates to possible embezzlement in certain public contracts. There are also more than a dozen harassment complaints lodged with the Namur labor auditor.
In this context, the Bureau of the Parliament of Wallonia has decided to extend the preventive suspension of Frédéric Janssens by 6 months from March 15, 2023.
This suspension is accompanied by a withholding of salary equal to 20% of the cash remuneration from which Frédéric Janssens benefits. This is the legal maximum allowed under the Statute of Agents of Parliament.
In addition, Frédéric Janssens will have to return, by March 15, the benefits in kind from which he benefits. The press release from the Bureau of the Parliament does not list them, but we are talking here, for example, of representation expenses, company car and mobile phone.
The Bureau of the Parliament recalls the need to respect the rights of the defense in these administrative procedures. He will not comment on the content of the files and the course of the proceedings.