Belgium suspected China spy but was unable to prosecute

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Belgium suspected for years that a Flemish far-right politician was a Chinese intelligence asset but has lacked the legal basis to prosecute him, according to the country’s justice minister.

Paul Van Tigchelt told the Financial Times that it was “no secret” that Frank Creyelman, then a member of Flemish far-right Vlaams Belang party, was “used by foreign regimes” aiming to influence politics.

But the justice minister said authorities were unable to press criminal charges against Creyelman and other suspects, despite evidence uncovered by security agencies, because of loopholes in Belgium’s century-old penal code.

“The attorney-general in Brussels decided in 2018 that there wasn’t a crime,” said Van Tigchelt.

An investigation last week by the Financial Times, Der Spiegel and Le Monde uncovered messages showing that Creyelman was used as an asset by Chinese spies for more than three years.

The exchanges chronicled how Daniel Woo, an officer in China’s Ministry of State Security spy agency, directed Creyelman to influence discussions in Europe on issues ranging from China’s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong to its persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Creyelman has not responded to questions about the relationship. The Chinese foreign ministry has said it is “not aware of the situation”.

Van Tigchelt said Belgian authorities became aware of Creyelman’s potential relationship with China in 2018, following a tip-off linking him to a network allegedly working for Beijing.

“There was a denunciation [by] our intelligence service [to the president of parliament]. So, yes, apparently there was an intelligence investigation,” Van Tigchelt said.

But Belgian authorities did not prosecute the case in part because under the Belgian penal code, espionage and foreign interference were only considered a criminal offence in relation to military matters.

According to Van Tigchelt, Belgium’s criminal code goes back to 1867 and has not been substantially updated since. The Belgian federal parliament is due to vote on an overhaul of the laws, which would come into force at the earliest next year, he said.

Creyelman, a longtime member of Belgium’s far-right Flemish nationalist movement since 1977, served in the federal Senate from 1999 to 2007 and was subsequently a member of the Flemish parliament until 2014. Until being stripped of his party affiliation last week, he represented the Vlaams Belang party in the council of his local city, Mechelen.  

An intelligence investigation regarding Creyelman’s links to China and possible espionage activities is ongoing, according to people familiar with the case. But it is uncertain whether he will ever be prosecuted for criminal offences.

“These were things that happened in the past . . . criminal laws, you cannot put them into force with retroactivity,” Van Tigchelt said. He added that criminal investigations, which are complicated when classified information is involved, are not the only weapon against espionage and interference.

Van Tigchelt acknowledged that Brussels is of particular interest to foreign governments due to the concentration of international institutions in the Belgian capital, such as the EU and Nato. “Lots of countries, lots of regimes, they have a particular interest of being here and we are well aware of that.”

Intelligence experts have suggested Belgium and its State Security Service (VSSE), which has just 900 employees, are not up to the task of policing foreign interference in the country given the increased threats from China and Russia.

The minister insisted the VSSE was well equipped to deal with the challenge, and said its staff would be increased to 1,000. “Yes, we can deal with the risks of espionage and interference . . . Our intelligence service is strengthened.”

Van Tigchelt replaced the former justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne in October, who stepped down after revelations that Belgian authorities had failed to extradite a man who killed two people in a terrorist attack.