i-Police inquiry reaches Verlinden's office as opposition presses for a parliamentary probe

A Brussels investigating judge has charged a spokesperson for Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) and the Dutch-speaking spokesperson for the Brussels prosecutor's office with breaching professional secrecy. De Standaard and Le Soir broke the news on Tuesday, and a lawyer confirmed it to VRT NWS. The prosecution spokesperson allegedly passed confidential information about the i-Police investigation to the minister's spokesperson. Whether that information reached Verlinden herself is unclear. According to La Libre, the prosecution spokesperson has been suspended since June following searches, while the minister's spokesperson was still at work last week. Both are presumed innocent.

i-Police is the police digitisation project that Verlinden, then interior minister, awarded to the French firm Sopra Steria in 2021 for around 299 million euros. Her successor Bernard Quintin (MR) pulled the plug on the contract in December 2025 after almost 76 million euros had been invoiced without any tangible result, VRT NWS reports. Prosecutors opened an inquiry early this year into embezzlement of public funds and conflict of interest, which has since become a judicial investigation. Verlinden had already come under fire for having worked as a lawyer for Sopra Steria shortly before becoming a minister.

In a press release, Verlinden says she has nothing to hide and that there was no conflict of interest. She speaks of "orchestrated leaks" that harm her and those around her, sees no reason to doubt her spokesperson and says she is ready to explain herself again in parliament. She says she also offered of her own accord to speak to the judicial authorities, an offer that has not yet been taken up.

Groen and Vlaams Belang repeated their call for a parliamentary committee of inquiry, while Anders wants the case discussed in the Chamber's justice committee as soon as possible. Coalition partner MR is also demanding answers, VRT NWS reports. Political journalist Ivan De Vadder thinks it likely that the Chamber will convene a committee during this week's recess. HLN and De Tijd lay out the successive revelations in the case.