Belgian intelligence official Hugues Brulin sent WhatsApp messages to then-EU Commissioner Didier Reynders in 2022. The correspondence, viewed by EUobserver, suggests a coordinated effort to neutralize internal scrutiny. According to five current and former intelligence officers, Brulin’s primary objective was to block the State Security Service (VSSE) from investigating Reynders’ potential ties to Moscow. The messages further detail plans to orchestrate a counterattack against a whistleblower who had raised concerns regarding the commissioner’s Russian connections.
These revelations emerge as Reynders faces legal peril following a December 2024 police raid on his properties. Now charged with laundering approximately €1 million through ING Bank using lottery tickets and cash, the 68-year-old politician’s career has collapsed. During his tenure as EU justice commissioner and former Belgian foreign and defense minister, Reynders held clearance for top-secret documents from Belgium, the European Union, and NATO. Should the allegations of corruption and foreign collusion be proven, the case marks a significant security breach for Western intelligence.
