In Belgium, a spying scandal for the benefit of China pushes the president of the parliamentary committee on military purchases to resign

2023-12-21 19:27:20
Steven Creyelman of the Vlaams Belang party during a session of the House Committee for Health and Equal Opportunities, in the Federal Parliament, on compulsory vaccination, in Brussels, February 16, 2022. SHUTTERSTOCK/SIPA

The role of informant for the benefit of China played by a Flemish far-right elected official, revealed on December 15 by an investigation by the Mondefrom the British business daily Financial Times and the German weekly The mirror, caused a lot of commotion in Belgium.

Frank Creyelman, 62 years old, senator from 1999 to 2007 and deputy from 2007 to 2014, current leader and municipal councilor of the Vlaams Belang party in Mechelen, in the province of Antwerp, was in contact with a member of the Chinese Ministry of Security d State that he informed in return for payment, from 2019 to 2022. He tried to influence European and Belgian politics.

This sympathizer of the Russian, Belarusian and Syrian regimes would have received 6,000 to 10,000 euros per “mission”. His contact invited him in particular to try to influence questions relating to the situation in Hong Kong, the persecution of the Uighurs or the proposed sanctions targeting the telecommunications operator Huawei.

Attempting to block parliamentary texts

Reacting to “information unacceptable if true”Tom Van Grieken, the president of Vlaams Belang, decided, on the same day of publication, to exclude Mr. Creyelman – who had announced his intention to abandon politics in 2024.

This is not the first time that one of the members of this party has been suspected of questionable contacts with Chinese services. In 2018, State Security, the Belgian intelligence service, was concerned about the activities of Filip Dewinter, a historic figure in the party and close to Mr. Creyelman. He had tried to oppose the expulsion of a Chinese, member of a “cultural” association suspected of engaging in espionage. The prosecution closed this case without further action, Mr. Dewinter pleading “naivety”.

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According to the daily The newspapaerhowever, it is this same alleged spy who allowed Mr. Dewinter to obtain, in 2020, the ten thousand masks whose distribution he organized when the country was cruelly lacking during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Frank Creyelman’s brother, Steven, currently federal deputy for Vlaams Belang, is now also in the hot seat. His name actually appeared in messages exchanged by his brother with his Chinese contact. In one of them, the latter asked him to approach Steven Creyelman to try to block certain parliamentary texts. Until Thursday, December 21, the federal deputy chaired a parliamentary committee responsible for supervising the acquisition of military equipment and also deliveries to Ukraine.

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