Corrupt German prosecutor resurfaces in vast cocaine case linked to Antwerp
The public prosecutor has sought 27 years in prison against Othman El Ballouti, presented as the godfather of Antwerp cocaine trafficking. De Morgen reveals that a corrupt German prosecutor has appeared in a related case.
The Antwerp godfather, 16 tonnes of cocaine and a magistrate under influence
Last week, Othman El Ballouti, presented as the discreet "boss" of Antwerp's drug mafia, appeared before court for the importation of more than 11 tonnes of cocaine. The public prosecutor sought 27 years in prison against him. He claims to be nothing more than a "myth" fabricated by the press. De Morgen reports that the German press had also travelled to follow the hearing.
A less publicised suspect, but feared
El Ballouti, 38, from Borgerhout, enjoys a lower profile than his counterparts Nordin El Hajjioui or Flor Bressers. His circle, however, has experienced extreme violence: his brother Younes was kidnapped by Parisian criminals, and his 11-year-old niece, Firdaous, was killed in an attack. These elements explain in part why he is less exposed to the media, whilst being estimated, according to the authorities, at a superior level in terms of wealth and position.
The Hamburg case and Sebastian Marset
The interest of German media is explained by a parallel case: in Germany, a separate investigation concerns the seizure of 16 tonnes of cocaine, intercepted in early 2021 in the port of Hamburg. Several figures from El Ballouti's circle appear in this case, including fugitive Youssef Ben Azza. This shipment is said to have been sent by Sebastian Marset, a baron of the Uruguayan cartel recently arrested in Bolivia, whom American services describe as a business partner of Othman El Ballouti.
A prosecutor on the traffickers' payroll
It is in this same case of the 16 tonnes that the case of prosecutor Yashar G. emerges, tasked with investigating the importing organisation. According to De Morgen, he received 5,000 euros per month in parallel for transmitting sensitive information to suspects, notably alerting them to imminent arrests so they could flee. In Germany, the revelation caused genuine shock: corruption within the police or judiciary is perceived there as a foreign phenomenon.
Belgium is not immune
The SKY ECC investigation uncovered several cases of corruption in Belgium, but the number of officers or magistrates who collaborated with organised crime remains limited, and no senior official featured in it — unlike what occurred in Germany.
Nevertheless, corruption in Belgian prosecutors' offices is not non-existent. Years earlier, a magistrate from the Antwerp prosecutor's office was questioned as part of an investigation into Marc De Schutter, a fraudster and murder suspect who has since died. This deputy prosecutor maintained such close links with the criminal that he was questioned in the case of the disappearance of De Schutter's partner, Vera Van Laer.
De Schutter is said to have died in the Philippines in 2017, taking the emerging scandal with him. The planned assize trial never took place. As for the magistrate in question, he was elevated a few weeks ago to the rank of commander in the Order of Leopold, in his capacity as an honorary deputy prosecutor of the King.
Source: De Morgen