We have known for a few days the fraud committed by the head of the sales department of FN Herstal, who was also an agent for football players: 15 million euros. But it appears, according to information from LN24, that at the same time another case of bad governance is being investigated and the amount relates to 23 million euros…
It is in fact the financial/accounting department of FN Herstal, a company 100% owned by the Walloon Region, which is in the crosshairs.
This service has in fact chosen to transit colossal amounts in “turbo” products: extremely sophisticated and risky financial products which are in principle set up to hedge exchange rates when you operate a lot abroad. These products are in principle reserved for experienced traders and finance specialists. They are therefore not suitable for a company that must manage as a good father and stay away from the turpitudes of the financial markets.
According to several sources who confided in LN24, the accountants of the FN might not avoid the losses and the audit committee of the FN Herstal saw nothing coming. The company’s loss is now estimated at between 23 and 25 million euros.
The audit and control structures did not seem to notice this mismanagement for years. The FN audit committee only met twice in 2021 and 3 times in 2022.
It shoots everything goes to the FN. Three men on the ground
The new management, including CEO Julien Compère, did not take office until February 2022. It is up to us that it is trying to close all the loopholes and get out of the riskiest related financial instruments. For its part, the supervisory authority of the company, which is the Walloon Region, has requested the dismissal of three directors, including the head of the audit committee. However, this will not bring back the 40 million in the coffers of the FN.
Asked by LN 24 regarding the 15 million euro fraud, Willy Borsus, Walloon Minister for the Economy, explained that the FN filed a complaint in court and became a civil party. The author of the fraud was obviously fired. With regard to poor financial governance, Wallonie Entreprendre, which operates on behalf of the government, wants the resignation of the three administrators and a study is currently being carried out on the functioning of FN Herstal. “We are in the process of restoring order on all floors in the Maison FN herstal”assure Willy Borsus. “We need to make sure this doesn’t happen once more.”
