Last June, federal police discreetly searched the Olivier Theunissen’s home and store, an antique dealer installed in the heart of the Sablon, as part of the Didier Reynders affair. The information, unveiled this Monday by the national online media 4, was confirmed by the public prosecutor’s office.
A boutique in Sablon
A specialist in art objects and 18th century furniture, Olivier Theunissen is considered a close to the former European Commissioner. The man established himself in the Sablon in 1992, an emblematic district of Brussels antique dealers. Alongside the knight Nicolas de Ghellinck d’Elseghem, the fifties in particular leads an elegant gallery located rue de la Régence. It was this shop that would have been searched by federal police.
A well-known figure in the middle, Theunissen occupies in particular the post of vice-president of the Royal House of Antiques of Belgium. In view of the local October 2012 election, the gallery owner presents himself on the lists of the MR in Lasne. Although he was not elected, he will still sit as a municipal councilor from 2015 to 2017, thanks to a set of musical chairs.
The shadow of Didier Reynders hovered over the laundering parliamentary committee
Suspicion of whitening
These searches, led by the general prosecutor’s office within the framework of the Reynders file, relate to suspicions of money laundering. Recall that Olivier Theunissen benefits from the presumption of innocence.
As a reminder, Didier Reynders, Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2019, is suspected of money laundering. The total amount would be around 800,000 euros. For years, the Liberal has paid large sums of cash into a player account of the national lottery before repatriating the gains (necessarily lower than the bets) on his bank account. At this stage, the ex-Tenor of the MR is not charged.
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