Dieter Penninckx is the main shareholder of KV Mechelen. He was arrested on Friday with his wife Anja Maes, with whom he founded the now bankrupt fashion group FNG (Brantano, CKS, Claudia Sträter, Fred and Ginger, etc.), by the investigating judge in Mechelen after violating their conditions.
Penninckx was locked up in prison, Maes was placed under electronic surveillance. Today the council chamber in Mechelen decided that Penninckx should stay in prison for at least a month longer.
“Dieter is currently being tackled harshly. Whether that is justified or not, we do not know”, says Frank Lagast, general director of KV Mechelen.
“On a human level, we sympathize with him and his family. However, the situation of the case with FNG and Dieter has evolved in such a way that it also reflects on the club. The board of directors decided unanimously to bring clarity, in the interest of the club.”
An extraordinary general meeting will convene within the legal timeframe with the request to end Dieter Penninckx’s mandate as director, the club said.
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Forgery, manipulation of share prices, money laundering …
In August, it became known that Dieter Penninckx, Anja Maes and the third FNG founder Manu Bracke were suspected of forgery and use of false documents, the submission of false annual accounts, the manipulation of the stock market price, the misuse of corporate assets and the do not want to cooperate with stock exchange authority FSMA.
Today it also became clear that the investigation was being expanded to include money laundering. The investigating judge had released the trio under strict conditions, but according to the public prosecutor, Penninckx and Maes have not adhered to their conditions.
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