The criminal investigation into possible malpractice at legal persons behind Pukkelpop has been shelved. “After a thorough and thorough investigation, it could not be demonstrated that crimes were committed,” says press magistrate Dorien Vanderheiden of the Limburg Public Prosecutor’s Office.
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The Limburg public prosecutor had opened an investigation after the satirical website ‘t Scheldt had suggested embezzlement and conflict of interest.
In that article, major question marks were raised about the finances of The Factory, the organization with which Chokri Mahassine organizes Pukkelpop. It started as a non-profit organization, but was transformed into a private limited company – an ordinary commercial company. In the years before that transformation, The Factory had built up a financial reserve of 7.7 million euros. That amount could only be spent on social causes. Despite this limitation, the ‘unavailable reserve’ had fallen to 3.99 million euros, or 3.7 million euros less, according to the latest annual report.
Whether that amount had actually gone to social causes, as required by law, was not stated in the annual accounts. The website ‘t Scheldt believed it knew that the money was used to cover the loss of the Pukkelpop edition 2020, which was canceled due to corona.
Another accusation in the article was The Factory’s association with Que Pasa?, a company registered in the name of Mahassine’s wife. That is a supplier of the festival, but ‘t Scheldt questioned the money flows between the two companies and insinuated that there was a conflict of interest here.
The judicial police have been investigating in recent months whether there have been any irregularities. The financial investigation was recently concluded and no crimes could be proven.
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