Former RSC Anderlecht manager Herman Van Holsbeeck (67) must remain in prison for the time being. His lawyers had asked Monday afternoon to release their client, but the Brussels council chamber did not agree. Van Holsbeeck’s lawyers will appeal against that decision. He will appear before the indictment chamber in 15 days.
Herman Van Holsbeeck was already suspected of money laundering and forgery in September 2019, but his arrest would now have come after new elements had surfaced in the file. This is disputed by the defence. ‘All elements were already known in September 2019’, say master Daniël Spreutels and Alexandre Wilmotte.
The Brussels council chamber does not respond to their request for release. His pre-trial detention has been extended by one month, the federal prosecutor’s office reports. His lawyers will appeal against that decision, sister newspaper writes The newspapaer. In fifteen days Van Holsbeeck must appear before the indictment chamber.
Illegal Transfer Fees
The federal prosecutor’s office and the Brussels investigating judge Michel Claise have been conducting a judicial investigation into money laundering and gang formation for some time. That investigation focuses, among other things, on the financial constructions surrounding the outgoing transfer of Alexander Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba to the English football club Newcastle, and the transfer of Youri Tielemans to AS Monaco. It is suspected that Van Holsbeeck in black, and without the knowledge of RSC Anderlecht, would have collected a fee for those transfers. Van Holsbeeck was already questioned about this in September 2019.
“All elements that are now in the file were already known then,” say the lawyers of the ex-Anderlecht manager. ‘An additional investigation has been conducted since then, but Mr Van Holsbeeck has answered all questions from the investigators and the investigating judge in recent years.’
There can also be no danger of collusion, according to the lawyers: ‘If he had wanted that, Mr. Van Holsbeeck would have had the time over the past two years to make agreements with other suspects in the file. That didn’t happen. So there is no reason to keep him in prison, especially at a time when he is struggling with health problems. It is also very unfair that he is the only person involved in the football scandal who is in prison.”
