Justice minister Verlinden under pressure as two spokespeople are charged in i-Police case

Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) is under growing pressure over the i-Police case. Her spokesperson and a Dutch-speaking spokesperson of the Brussels prosecutor's office have been charged with breaching professional secrecy. Both are suspected of gathering confidential information for the minister's benefit in the i-Police file, which concerns her.

Le Soir reported on Tuesday 27 October that the minister's spokesperson had been charged in an investigation into embezzlement and illegal conflict of interest. La Libre Belgique and La DH report that the prosecutor's office spokesperson allegedly passed confidential information about the i-Police investigation to the minister's office.

What is i-Police

i-Police is a digitisation project for federal and local police, launched in 2021 with a budget of 300 million euros. It has been widely described as a fiasco. According to RTBF, more than 75 million euros of public money has already been spent, and La DH puts the figure at 75.8 million euros.

As interior minister in 2021, Verlinden signed the contract with the French company Sopra Steria to develop the system. Current Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) ended the project at the end of 2025, calling it a "dead horse".

Conflict of interest allegations

Le Soir reports accusations of conflict of interest against Verlinden, noting that before becoming minister she was a lawyer for Sopra Steria. According to La DH, that work took place in 2019 in a different case. La DH also reports that the minister's partner is an executive at the law firm that has advised Sopra Steria on the public contract since the start.

According to La DH, Verlinden rejects any conflict of interest and says she knows nothing of any wrongdoing by her staff. The spokesperson is presumed innocent and contests the charges, La DH reports.

Parliament divided on how to respond

Opposition parties and the MR have demanded that Verlinden explain herself before the federal parliament. On Wednesday 28 October, Ismaël Nuino (Les Engagés), chair of the Chamber's Justice committee, said the committee will not meet this week on the case. He said it is neither urgent nor relevant to ask the minister to comment on an ongoing judicial investigation.

On Tuesday, Ortwin Depoortere (Vlaams Belang), chair of the Interior committee, announced that the Interior and Justice committees would jointly question Verlinden and Quintin, but gave no date. Nuino ruled out an emergency meeting during the parliamentary recess and wants to wait for the Court of Audit report. Depoortere said he wants to meet Verlinden this week if possible, even without the Justice committee.

The Court of Audit report on i-Police is expected in the coming days and may bring new information on the fiasco. In an editorial, La DH argues that the case raises a question about the separation between political power and the judiciary.