Did airport staff steal passengers’ money?
Did staff at Charleroi Airport steal money that passengers had spent in airport shops? This is one of the questions a Belgian judge will have to decide on after a court in the Walloon city ruled that 17 employees at Brussels South Charleroi Airport will have to stand trial.
The defendants stand accused of theft and forming a criminal gang. The 17 are suspected of stealing goods and cash worth 30,000 euros over a two-year period.
The charges are being brought after other employees at the Walloon airport sounded the alarm. The defendants were identified after evidence was collected through telephone taps.
Some suspects are thought to have failed to close cash registers allowing them to destroy tickets and pocket the money from sales. Plain clothes police hit on the practise when they purchased a sandwich at the airport. Other employees stand accused of treating themselves to foreign travel, a new car or even a new kitchen.