Belgium’s Approach to Investigating White-Collar Offenses

In Belgium, white-collar offenses can be investigated through two types of inquiries: Preliminary Inquiries and Judicial Inquiries.

Preliminary Inquiry

A preliminary inquiry can be initiated by a victim or witness who reports an offense to the police or directly to the public prosecutor’s office. The public prosecutor’s office can also initiate an inquiry on their own initiative. A judicial inquiry, on the other hand, requires more formal acts and can be initiated by either the alleged victim or the public prosecutor’s office.

Powers of Investigation

Both the public prosecutor’s office and investigating judges have investigation powers in Belgium. However, the investigating judge has more extensive powers and can order more far-reaching measures than the public prosecutor’s office. They can:

• Ask individuals to provide documents
• Seize documents
• Conduct searches of premises
• Interrogate employees or officers of a company under investigation

Internal Investigations

While there is no specific framework for internal investigations in Belgium, certain rules and rights must be considered when conducting such an inquiry. These include the possibility of:

• Placing cameras in the workplace
• Monitoring online communication data
• A breach of these rules and rights can constitute an offense.

Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties and Cross-Border Cooperation

Belgium has a range of legal instruments to facilitate the collection of evidence and seizure or confiscation of assets across borders, including:

• European Investigation Orders
• The Act of 9 December 2004 on Mutual International Legal Assistance
• Bilateral and multilateral treaties

Extradition

Within the European Union, member states can use the European arrest warrant to request the extradition of an individual. Belgium is also a signatory to the European Convention on Extradition and has several bilateral and multilateral treaties in place.

Prosecution

White-collar offenses can be brought before the criminal court through three channels:

• Referral by the Council Chamber
• Referral by the Chamber of Indictments
• Direct referral by the public prosecutor’s office

The prosecution process involves an initial investigation followed by a hearing before the Council Chamber, which will then decide whether to proceed with the case.

Conclusion

Belgium has a comprehensive framework in place to investigate and prosecute white-collar offenses, including preliminary inquiries, judicial inquiries, powers of investigation, internal investigations, mutual legal assistance treaties, extradition agreements, and prosecution channels.