2023-10-12 12:21:00
In this case of fraud involving subsidies to a non-profit organization owned by the MP, the public prosecutor’s office allegedly noted the existence of nine additional false invoices: four for the city of Antwerp and five for the Flemish Community.
The prosecution wants to prosecute the MP before the criminal court for subsidy fraud with her non-profit organization Let’s Go Urban. Sihame El Kaouakibi will appear, in this context, before the Antwerp council chamber on October 26.
A subsidy fraud scandal concerning her broke out at the beginning of 2021. The elected official had received funding for her Antwerp project Let’s Go Urban, dedicated to youth, but she allegedly transferred the funds to her other companies.
Let’s Go Urban was declared bankrupt in June 2021, and its other companies such as recruitment platform WannaWork and communications agency WannaCatch suffered the same fate.
The Flemish Parliament lifted its parliamentary immunity last October.
The case has already passed before the council chamber for the first time but was postponed due to requests for additional investigative duties.
Both the MP, the city of Antwerp and the Flemish Community had requested additional investigative duties which revealed the existence of other false invoices, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.
The office of the President of the Flemish Parliament, Liesbeth Homans, confirmed to the Belga agency that the Attorney General requested by letter to once once more lift the immunity of Sihame El Kaouakibi to question him on the existence of these false invoices which led to a modification of the indictment.
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