Belgium suspects Dutch lawyer Yehudi Moszkowicz of ties to organized crime
Dutch lawyer Yehudi Moszkowicz was arrested in the Beveren prison in Belgium last month while visiting his client, a major drug lord in Antwerp named Flor B, De Standaard reported on Friday. Moszkowicz is suspected of being a member of a criminal organization.
The Belgian Public Prosecution Service confirmed this information. A spokesperson said that Moszkowicz is suspected of membership in a criminal organization. It is alleged that the services he provided to B. extended beyond the typical boundaries of an attorney-client relationship, though the specifics remain unclear.
According to NOS, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service searched Moszkowicz's office in Utrecht at the end of September at the request of the Belgian Public Prosecution Service.
The lawyer was released under specific conditions. De Standaard reported that Moszkowicz is now barred from contacting B., his associates, and the other attorneys involved in the case.
When approached by De Standaard on Thursday, Moszkowicz denied both his arrest in Belgium and the suspicions. “I have no legal problem. I don't know what you're talking about,” he told the newspaper. NOS tried to contact him but without success.
This is the second instance this year where a top Dutch attorney came under scrutiny for a too-close relationship with a client. Inez Weski was arrested in April, also on suspicions of involvement in a criminal organization. She was the attorney leading the defense of Ridouan Taghi, the alleged criminal underworld boss and primary defendant in the Marengo proceedings.
