How a Belgian Aristocrat Under Investigation for Money Laundering Moved Millions Into Colombia
In the 2010s, De Croÿ earned the nickname “Black Prince” in the Belgian press when he was at the center of one of the country’s biggest-ever tax fraud cases.
A descendant of one of Europe’s oldest aristocratic families, De Croÿ is under investigation for allegedly masterminding a scheme that hid hundreds of millions from tax authorities on behalf of scores of rich clients.
“Dubai Papers,” a leak of about 200,000 internal documents from De Croÿ’s group of companies, Helin Group, first published by the French magazine L’Obs in 2018.
De Croÿ has been tied to Colombia for about three decades through his wife, María del Socorro Patiño Cordoba, who was born in the small, southwestern city of Popayán.
Accounting records from the Dubai Papers reveal other methods De Croÿ and Patiño used to avoid scrutiny from banks or financial regulators, while moving at least $[1.3] million from Helin Group companies into Colombia between 2011 and 2017.
Patiño and De Croÿ first crossed paths in London, where he was working in banking, a career that would take him to the financial capitals of Hong Kong and Luxembourg. They married in 1994.
June 8, 2022
https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/how-a-belgian-aristocrat-under-investigation-for-money-laundering-moved-millions-into-colombia
Belgian prince investigated in alleged global tax evasion network probe
Henri de Croÿ, Belgian prince and member of the Belgian nobility, allegedly helped funnel millions of euros into tax havens through an international evasion network.
A member of the Belgian nobility, the prince is a descendant of the House of Croÿ, one of the oldest aristocratic families in Europe, with the de Croÿ-Solre branch being the last surviving line of the noble house.
De Croÿ, whose ancestry gives him the same royal status as the princes and princesses of Belgium, was thrust into the public spotlight due to revelations over his financial and fiscal misconduct and was namely embroiled in the so-called Dubaï Papers scandal.
The fiscal investigation doubles down on another probe launched by federal prosecutors last autumn, targeting around 50 Belgians who allegedly entrusted the Belgian prince with sums of up to €[13] million per person.
Friday, 7 February 2020
https://www.brusselstimes.com/94052/belgian-prince-hit-by-new-probe-into-alleged-tax-evasion-network-henri-de-croy-tax-havens