Frank Creyelman
City councillor in Mechelen
Assumed office
1994
Member of the Belgian Senate
In office
1999–2007
Member of the Flemish Parliament
In office
1995–1999
ConstituencyMechelen-Turnhout
In office
2007–2014
ConstituencyAntwerp Province
Personal details
Born
Frank Beno Mariano Creyelman

(1961-08-10) August 10, 1961
Dendermonde, Belgium
Political partyIndependent
Vlaams Belang (-2023)
RelativesSteven Creyelman (brother)

Frank Beno Mariano Creyelman[1] (born 10 August 1961) is a Belgian politician. He was expelled from Vlaams Belang.[2] Between 1995 and 1999 he served as a member of the Flemish Parliament; between 1999 and 2007 as a member of the senate and between 2007 and 2014 again as member of the Flemish Parliament.[3]

Creyelman is known for his sympathies for the dictatorship in Russia.[4] As faction leader of the Vlaams Belang, he was against arms supply from Belgium to Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. His statements were met with indignation.[5]

On 15 December 2023, a joint investigation by Financial Times, Der Spiegel and Le Monde revealed that Creyelmans accepted bribes from China's Ministry of State Security for three years to influence discussions within the European Union.[6] Subsequently, Vlaams Belang expelled him from the party.[7] However, he could not be prosecuted due to loopholes in Belgium's outdated penal code.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Algemene informatie - Kandidaat-titularissen - verkiezingen senaat 2003; Federal Public Service Interior
  2. ↑ Biography of Frank Creyelman, Encyclopedie van de Vlaamse Beweging
  3. ↑ Biography of Frank Creyelman; Flemish Parliament
  4. ↑ List of newspaper articles about Creyelman (archived on 14 September 2022)
  5. ↑ Uitspraken van Frank Creyelman in Russische media over wapenlevering aan Oekraïne zet kwaad bloed bij Mechelse Stadslijst: “Dit is totaal on-Mechels (archived on 9 May 2022)
  6. ↑ "Chinese spies recruited European politician in operation to divide west". Financial Times. 15 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Vlaams Belang zet Frank Creyelman uit partij na onthullingen over spionage voor China". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 15 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Belgium suspected China spy but was unable to prosecute". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
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