The role of a Flemish far-right elected official as a whistleblower on behalf of China, revealed on December 15 by an investigation by Le Monde, the British business newspaper Financial Times and the German weekly Der Spiegel, is causing a great stir in Belgium.
Frank Creyelman, 62, senator from 1999 to 2007 and deputy from 2007 to 2014, current leader and local councilor of the Vlaams Belang party in Mechelen, Antwerp province, was in contact with a member of the Chinese Ministry of Security and State that he was from 2019 to 2022 informed against payment. He tried to influence European and Belgian politics.
This sympathizer of the Russian, Belarusian and Syrian regimes would have received 6,000 to 10,000 euros per “operation”. In particular, his contact invited him to influence issues related to the situation in Hong Kong, the persecution of the Uighurs or the planned sanctions against the telecommunications operator Huawei.
Attempt to block parliamentary texts
In response to “unacceptable information if true,” Tom Van Grieken, the president of Vlaams Belang, decided on the day of publication to expel Mr. Creyelman – who had announced his intention to leave politics in 2024.
It is not the first time that one of the members of this party has been suspected of having questionable contacts with Chinese services. In 2018, the Belgian State Security Service was concerned about the activities of Filip Dewinter, a historical figure in the party and close to Mr Creyelman. He had tried to defend himself against the expulsion of a Chinese man who was a member of a “cultural” organization and was suspected of espionage. The prosecution closed this case without further action, with Mr. Dewinter citing “naivety.”
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However, according to the daily Het Nieuwsblad, it is the same suspected spy who in 2020 enabled Mr Dewinter to obtain the ten thousand masks whose distribution he organized when the country suffered cruel shortages during the Covid pandemic. -19.
Frank Creyelman's brother Steven, currently a federal member of the Vlaams Belang, is now also in the hot seat. His name actually appeared in messages his brother exchanged with his Chinese contact. In one of them, he asked him to contact Steven Creyelman to try to block certain parliamentary texts. Until Thursday, December 21, the federal deputy headed a parliamentary committee responsible for monitoring the procurement of military equipment and deliveries to Ukraine.
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