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Belgian public spending auditor queries Prince Laurent's expenses claims

Xinhua, November 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Belgian public spending watchdog has issued a report "highly critical" of expenses claimed by Prince Laurent, the brother of Belgium's King Philippe, local media reported on Saturday.

According to Le Soir newspaper, a ski holiday, school fees for his children and purchases from a discount supermarket were among the items queried by the country's official auditor, the Cour des Comptes.

Prince Laurent receives 300,000 euros (about 330,270 U.S. dollars) a year from the Belgian taxpayer, the paper added. The auditor did not say how much money the contested expenses claims added up to.

Belgian public broadcaster RTBF reports that Flemish lawmaker Veerle Wouters, from the centre-right N-VA party, has begun a campaign to remove Prince Laurent's expenses entitlement for five years and demand he pay back the contested amount.

Wouters said it was "surreal" that the prince appeared to be claiming personal items as professional expenses, the broadcaster added.

Fellow N-VA lawmaker Hendrik Vuye has called for tougher sanctions if members of the royal family are found in breach of expenses rules. Enditem