Frank Zweegers, the owner of Dutch property company Breevast who was arrested in Italy earlier this month on allegations of fraud, has been released following interrogation by the Belgian authorities.
Belgian business newspaper De Tijd reported that Zweegers travelled to Belgium – where he has a house in addition to his residence in Monaco - on 10 August to comply with an arrest warrant issued by the Belgian authorities. He was interrogated by Belgian police the day after and subsequently released.
Zweegers is being investigated for allegedly bribing a former Belgian police chief in 2013 to lobby for the national police headquarters to move to another building in Brussels, owned at the time by Breevast. The police section of that building, the RAC complex, has since been sold to Hannover Leasing and China’s Gingko Tree.
In a statement released last Sunday on Zweegers’ behalf by a PR bureau specialised in reputation management, the property magnate reiterated his claim that he is not guilty of the charges and that he would remain at the disposal of the Belgian authorities for further questioning at all times. He added that he had the ‘fullest confidence’ in the outcome of the investigation.
Dutch and Belgian media reports allege Zweegers paid former Belgian police chief Glenn Audenaert tens of thousands of euros in bribes to lobby for the police headquarters to relocate to the RAC complex in Brussels. Audenaert, who faces charges of forgery, money laundering and passive corruption, has admitted he received payment from Zweegers but that it was 'a present' from the Dutch property magnate.
Zweegers is said to be one of the richest men in the Netherlands with an estimated fortune of €245 mln, according to business magazine Quote.
His company Breevast is reportedly in talks to sell the Finance Tower (pictured) in Brussels, which forms part of the RAC complex, to Derek Quinlan for €1.3 bn. The Dutch company acquired the 31-storey, 200,000 m2 building in 2001 for €310 mln and subsequently spent €300 mln on its renovation.
