Three years in prison and a 16,000 euro fine for repeated fraud

The French-speaking court of first instance of Brussels has sentenced Raphaël Donatien Georges Cocu to three years in prison, a 16,000 euro fine, a ten-year professional ban, and the confiscation of 234,604.52 euros. The judgment, rendered by default on July 9, 2026, and served on July 16, 2026, is published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge) of September 18, 2026, pages 50834-50835, under the reference docket 5618/26 — convicted 7164/26.

The defendant, born on December 29, 1982, in Dechy (France), was prosecuted as the perpetrator or co-perpetrator, within the meaning of Article 66 of the Penal Code, on twenty combined counts. The court ordered the publication of an excerpt of the judgment at the expense of the convicted party, in accordance with Article 490 of the Penal Code, as well as his immediate arrest.

Forgery, fraud, and bankruptcy offenses

The facts span nearly four years, within the judicial district of Brussels and, by connection, that of Antwerp.

• A1 to A3: forgery of commercial, banking, or private documents, and the use thereof, involving the fabrication or subsequent insertion of agreements, obligations, or releases (Articles 193, 196, paragraphs 1 and 4, 213, and 214 of the former Penal Code), between August 11, 2021, and April 11, 2025.
• B1 to B15: repeated frauds (Article 496, paragraph 1, of the former Penal Code), committed on several occasions between November 2021 and March 2025.
• C: purchases for resale below market value and other compromising operations intended to delay the declaration of bankruptcy (Articles 489bis, 10, and 490 of the former Penal Code), between October 5, 2021, and October 11, 2022.
• D: late admission of bankruptcy in order to delay the declaration of bankruptcy (Articles 489bis, 4°, and 490 of the former Penal Code), in Brussels, on November 8, 2021.

A sentence accompanied by a double ban

The court pronounced a prison sentence of three years and a fine of 16,000 euros, representing 2,000 euros multiplied by eight in application of additional decimals. In the event of non-payment within the legal timeframe, this fine may be replaced by a subsidiary imprisonment of eight days.

Added to this are two bans, each for a duration of ten years, which the judgment describes as a “double ban”:

• a ban on exercising, personally or through an intermediary, the functions of director, auditor, or manager in a company, as well as functions conferring the power to bind a company, those of a manager of a Belgian establishment, and the profession of stockbroker;
• a ban on engaging in commercial activity, personally or through intermediaries.

The confiscation by equivalent concerns the sum of 234,604.52 euros. The court allocates the confiscated sum to the civil parties up to the amount of the compensation granted.

The civil parties to the trial

In addition to the public prosecutor’s office, the case pitted the convicted party against several companies acting as civil parties:

• Oston SRL
• Corely Belgium SRI
• De Lage Landen Leasing SA
• Econom Products & Solutions Belux SA
• Orange Belgium SA
• Italfoods BV
• Pellizzari Enrico

Scope

The publication of this default judgment in the Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge) provides the conviction with legal publicity and enforceability, particularly regarding third parties intending to contract with the convicted party. It also materializes the effect of the two ten-year professional bans, which deprive Raphaël Cocu of any managerial position and any commercial activity in Belgium.

Official source: Belgian Official Gazette of September 18, 2026, pages 50834-50835 — French-speaking Court of First Instance of Brussels, judgment of July 9, 2026, docket 5618/26 — convicted 7164/26.