RAID'S IN BELGIUM - newest stuff on top of page
Le Matin, October 2, 1999
After the raids on the "Church", loose ends
to unravel Scientology? Documents siezed by
investigators may reveal the worldwide operations
of the church.
----
Belgian investigators didn't come away empty-handed
from the Church of Scientology last Thursday.
From the numerous documents taken during the 25
search operaitons in Belgium and France, they hope
to unravel the Belgian and international operations
of the Church.
RELIGIOUS MANAGEMENT
The locations searched include the old and new
Belgian headquarters of the Chruch, as well as several
commercial companies (U-man Belgium, Valgo International
Consulting, PR Consulting, Impact consulting, Delta, and
Advance Consulting) who "offer management trainting to
well known Belgian companies, in order to win their
sympathies",
explained the spokesman for the Brussels investigating
magistrates.
The Church of Scientology not only makes contact with
individuals with a view toward recruiting them into the
ASBL (Association de Scientologues Bene-Lux??).
They also make contact with large compaines to whom
they sell notably management training programs, including,
among other things, employee evaluation tests.
FIVE ACCOUNTS AT KREDIETBANK LUXEMBURG
In other developments, bank accounts linked to the Church
were discovered in Luxemboug at the already controversial
Kredietbank Luxembourg (KB Lux).
One of these accounts, which was credited at the end of
1993 with 1.8 billion belgian francs (45 million Euros),
is subdivided into fifteen or so anonymous sub-accounts,
with notations such as "chuch.scientol. Tor." (for
Toronto),
"Toky" (Tokyo), "Los" (Los Angeles), or
"Cura" (Curacao).
With these discoveries, the Brussels authorities hope to
peel back the veil that hides the global financial structure
of Scientology.
Among the siezed documents are personal files containing
descriptions of the psychological and medical condition of
church members - which may run afoul of the laws protecting
personal privacy.
The invesitigators also discovered mailings, composed of a
letter and a book, addressed to the principal political figures
of the country, notably members of the government and of
the parliament.
Translation above done by Patricia Greenway of Tampa Florida, thank you!
At 2 o'clock PM on Thursday, September 30, one hundred and twenty agents of the Belgian federal police conducted simultaneous raids across Belgium on a total of ten locations of the Church of Scientology and affiliated companies. Among those locations were the current headquarters of the cult and the new headquarters they're in the middle of moving to, both in Brussels, and the offices of U-Man in Malines. At all locations, large amounts of documents and computer equipment were seized. At U-Man, all financial accounts were seized (the police arrived with a truck for the purpose). At the request of Belgian authorities, a number of police raids were carried out in France at the same time. Twenty-five people were detained for further questioning. Among these are an American citizen who heads Scientology's "Human Rights" organisation, located in Brussels. There are no reports as of the time of posting (6 AM local time) on whether any of these people have yet been released. The raids are apparently the result of an ongoing investigation that started two years ago. The specific focuses (at this very early stage of news reporting) appear to be fraud, falsifying of accounts, and large-scale tax evasion. More detailed explanations from the judicial authorities are expected tomorrow. A spokesperson for Scientology, Marc Bromberg, claimed in a statement to reporters that the raids are an unwarranted revenge action by the Belgian government for Scientology's stance against oppression of religious minorities. The above is my summary of what I've been able to glean so far from reports on Belgian television. More, much much more is no doubt to come. And on a less serious note: god, weren't the expressions on the faces of the few clams who arrived during the whole thing priceless! Thankfully, the police had made sure numerous camera teams and photographers were on hand. The funniest one was a lady who insisted no raid could possible be happening, because she had just come back and there was no raid when she left half an hour earlier. And there was another male one who claimed he wasn't worried at all, because: "we have nothing to hide". What, not even the OT levels? Praise be Xenu! Move over Germany, here come the Belgians! October 01, 1999; Friday 08:31 Eastern Time SECTION: International news DISTRIBUTION: Europe;Britian;Scandinavia; England LENGTH: 257 words HEADLINE: Belgian justice investigating Scientology finances DATELINE: BRUSSELS, Belgium BODY:Justice officials said Friday they are checking the books ofseveral Belgian firms linked to the Church of Scientology, part of an investigation that began two years ago and culminated in police raids of 25 offices across Belgium on Thusrday. Police seized financial records, correspondence, bank statements and other papers to track the flow of money to the Church of Scientology here.The U.S.-based organization is also under investigation in otherEuropean nations where officials suspect it is not so much achurch as commercial enterprise.Jos Colpin, a spokesman for investigating magistrate Jean-Claudevan Espen, said the Belgian probe began in 1997 based onallegations of fraud and forgery.On Thursday, police raided the offices of several consultancyfirms linked to the Church of Scientology. Jos Colpin, thespokesman for investigating magistrate Jean-Claude Van Espen,said investigators were trying to determine how far the churchwent in recruiting converts and at what price. The Church of Scientology has long been the target of complaints that its members pay excessive fees.In France, the government is investigating 16 members of theChurch of Scientology as part of an investigation that first gotunderway a decade ago, but has suffered from administrative foot-dragging and foul-ups such as the disappearance court documents.Founded in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, theChurch of Scientology teaches that technology can expand the mindand help solve problems. (rw)--BELGIUM: PRESS DIGEST - Belgium - October 1.472 10/01/199902:42 BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Following are some of the main stories in selected Belgiannewspapers this morning:...-Brusselscourt tackles Scientology Church, searching 25 houses of firms believedto belinked to the organisation. (P3)DE MORGEN -FRONTPAGE LEAD: Tax department looking for proof of fraud at Scientology Church, 120 officers carry out searches at 25 houses. (p1)