Belgian lawyer cleared of charges in AB-InBev inheritance scandal

Switzerland | Belated justice. A Geneva appeal court acquitted Farida Chorfi, the Belgian ex-lawyer of the Bailo de Spoelberch family, from money laundering and forgery charges.

The judges found no evidence that she had swindled the elderly Amicie de Spoelberch and her adopted sons, Alexis and Patrice Bailo de Spoelberch, out of their inheritance of AB-InBev shares.

In a press release, Grégoire Mangeat, of Mangeat LLC in Switzerland, who had represented Ms Chorfi, said that the ruling in January 2023 ends a decade-long ordeal for Ms Chorfi. It all began with a disagreement over fees with the two adopted sons of the Viscountess de Spoelberch. Ms Chorfi had represented the brothers when they sought to recover an inheritance of AB-InBev shares worth millions.

“This total acquittal of the aggravated money-laundering charge is above all an end to a crushing campaign, waged against our client with unprecedented relentlessness and malice,” Mr Mangeat added.

Where are our shares?

As the lawyers tell the story, the Bailo de Spoelberch family, one of richest in Belgium and heir to Interbrew/InBev shares, had called upon the Luxembourg law firm of Ms Chorfi on several occasions. The first time was in 2004, when she was tasked with organising a family holding and gaining control of a package of more than 9 million bearer shares in the brewer – shares that had eluded them for years.

After the death of the Viscountess in 2008, the sons again requested Ms Chorfi's services, because their mother had apparently disinherited them and distributed the family fortune across opaque foundations managed by various Belgian, Swiss and Luxembourg law firms. In 2009, Ms Chorfi's firm recovered InBev shares worth more than EUR 3.5 billion today.

But the brothers contested Ms Chorfi's fee, resulting in a disagreement that led them to seek prosecution against their own lawyer.

A lawyer doing time

After two failed attempts to have her face money-laundering charges in Luxembourg, the heirs' lawyers convinced a Swiss prosecutor to get Ms Chorfi thrown into prison, first in Greece, in July 2017, then in Geneva for eight months without trial, then finally to place her under house arrest in Geneva until December 2019.

The judges in the appeal proceedings considered the allegation unproven. The verdict restores to Ms Chorfi a fine of CHF 34 million (USD 37 million) as well as her frozen bank accounts and assets, plus CHF 5 million (USD 5.5 million) in procedural costs. In addition, Ms Chorfi may keep 327,000 AB-InBev shares, which are currently worth some EUR 20 million (USD 21.5 million), media say.

Ms Chorfi was further acquitted of having forged a fee agreement with the Bailo de Spoelberch family. However, she was found guilty of having opened accounts by providing false information about the beneficial owner. This resulted in a fine of 250 daily units, media report.

The decision can still be appealed in a Swiss federal court. Ms Chorfi is also considering launching proceedings for compensation.

See also our report: Tax the rich: the belgian way