Fraudulent bankruptcy: ten months in prison for a manager

The criminal court of Neufchâteau has sentenced Marc Wouters to ten months in prison and a 20,000 euro fine for misuse of corporate assets and embezzlement of assets in the context of a bankruptcy. Judgment No. NE262/2026, rendered by the Court of First Instance of Luxembourg, Neufchâteau division, is published in the Belgian Official Gazette of September 3, 2026, page 48121.

The defendant, born in Kalmthout on April 3, 1956, and residing in Ortho (La Roche-en-Ardenne), was prosecuted as the legal or de facto manager of a company declared bankrupt on February 6, 2023. Sitting in criminal matters and ruling adversarially in the first instance, the court upheld five of the six charges brought against him, with the sixth resulting in an acquittal.

A single sentence of ten months

The court sentenced Marc Wouters to a single term of ten months’ imprisonment and a fine of 2,500 euros, increased by 70 additional decimes and thus brought to 20,000 euros, or two months of subsidiary imprisonment. It ordered a three-year suspension for the entirety of the prison sentence and for half of the fine.

The court also ordered the confiscation of 60,000 euros by equivalent, an amount awarded to the civil party, and ordered the defendant to pay the costs as well as several contributions, including 250 euros to the Special Fund for Assistance to Victims of Intentional Acts of Violence.

Massive embezzlements

The established charges relate to the misuse of corporate assets, embezzlement of assets, removal of accounting records, failure to cooperate with the bankruptcy trustees, and the entering into of excessive commitments. The events took place in Ortho between October 1, 2016, and February 6, 2023.

According to the judgment, Marc Wouters used the company’s accounts for personal purposes for a total amount of 239,720.70 euros:

• private expenses for nearly 5,000 euros (jewelry, bags);
• payments into private accounts, including 37,835 euros as undeclared salary, 51,430 euros into his own account, 45,665.35 euros into that of Mrs. Hannoset, and 57,265.35 euros into the couple’s joint account;
• cash withdrawals of 26,525 euros;
• a client payment of 16,000 euros paid directly into his private account;
• the embezzlement of a container valued at 4,299 euros.

The company’s liabilities amounted to slightly less than 83,500 euros, including more than 77,000 euros in institutional liabilities.

An eight-year ban

The court has imposed on the defendant a prohibition from engaging in any commercial activity for eight years. It has also prohibited him, personally or through an intermediary, from serving as a director, auditor, or manager in a joint-stock company, a private limited liability company, or a cooperative society, as well as from holding any position conferring the power to bind any such company, for the same duration.

The judgment was rendered on the basis of Articles 40, 42, 43, 43bis, 43ter, 43quater, 65, 66, 489, 490, and 492bis of the Penal Code, Royal Decree No. 22 of October 24, 1934, and Articles 83, 193, and 200 of the Law of May 5, 2019. Publication in the Belgian Official Gazette was ordered at the defendant’s expense, in accordance with Article 490 of the Penal Code.

This conviction illustrates the firmness of the correctional courts toward executives who misappropriate the assets of a bankrupt company to the detriment of creditors. The eight-year prohibition from engaging in commercial activity constitutes an exemplary sanction intended to protect the economic sphere and deter fraudulent behavior.