Zaventem Airport bomber paid bribes for deportation to Netherlands: Belgian report

Ibrahim El Bakraoui, one of the bombers that committed a suicide attack at the Zaventem airport in Brussels in March, payd bribes to be deported to the Netherlands instead of Belgium, the Belgian judicial authorities believe, according to RTL Nieuws.

Some months before the bombings in Brussels, El Bakraoui was arrested in Gaziantep in Turkey, on the border with Syria. Instead of being deported to Belgium, as would be expected because of his Belgian nationality, the man was deported to the Netherlands. A document from the Belgian judiciary, currently in the hands of Flemish broadcaster VTM Nieuws, show that the current theory is that El Bakraoui paid some bribes to make this happen.

El Bakraoui likely wanted to avoid Belgium because he violated the terms of his parole after a robbery at a currency exchange. He had no criminal record in the Netherlands at the time.

The suicide bomber also made a statement in Turkey saying that he lost between 6 thousand and 7 thousand euros in the country. The Belgian authorities believe that that money went to bribes.