How the Fortis Bank in Antwerp, assisted a Belgian to commit fraud against an African

 

In Belgium, many landlords like to rent their houses to foreigners because they find it comfortable to cheat them with impunity.

They demand a one-month or three months guarantee, which is often deposited at the bank by the renter and tenant with both signatures confirming the deposit.

The significance of this deposit is that it is used for repairs in case any damage occurs if the tenant is ready to leave, but on many occasions, landlords refuse to give the tenants the money even though there isn’t any damage.

In the year 2002, Mr. Daniel Sackey rented an apartment from one Mr. Pingnet Ludo of Jaak Embrechts Straat 19, at Deurne, a community in Antwerp.

According to the Belgian renting laws, a guarantee should be blocked in the bank, and at the end of the contract, the guarantee can only be released with an agreement, signed by the tenant and the lessor.

A document with modifications will not be accepted for the amount. By lack of an agreement, the guarantee can also be released by agreement after the lessor inspects his apartment.

“In the apartment, we had a problem concerning water bills and repairs, which I deemed fit. I have been cheated upon for so long by Mr. Pingnet Ludo over the years,” said Mr. Sackey.

“Through the negligence of Mr. Pingnet, my apartment was burgled by thieves when he gave the front door keys to my neighbors’ acquaintance, whom he had no knowledge of who they were.”

After the break-in of my apartment, the thieves made away with my laptop, camera, my car, and many other including mobile phones. That case is also pending, etc,” said Mr. Sackey.

Within the period of 5 years, Mr. Pingnet refused to repair things in the house when something went wrong. Once, Mr. Sackey asked him to enable the insurance company to make the repairs, but he refused to comply with his request.

Due to his attitude, not interested in solving the problems at the apartment, Mr. Sackey decided to hold back some of the monthly rent and the yearly index, which resulted in the exchange of letters, until he got the house inspection team from Antwerp to intervene; thereafter, a date was fixed.

Unfortunately, that didn’t help Mr. Sackey. Mr. Pingnet didn’t carry out the repairs. He was successful in getting away after the house inspectors came to see the problems in the house because he is a Belgian, and they didn’t do much because he is an African living in that apartment.

Mr. Sackey is aware of how a lot of Belgian landlords steal the guarantees or money deposited at the bank. Thus, immediately, he went to Fortis Bank to check whether the guarantee was there. The bank official, Negra, asked Mr. Sackey when the deposit was made at the bank.

Mr. Sackey provided his identity card and the account number indicating the deposit of the amount. After a brief conversation, the Fortis Bank official told Mr. Sackey that Mr. Pingnet Ludo has claimed the money.

How can money deposited in my name with my signature be claimed by someone else? Asked Mr. Sackey. Mr. Pingnet successfully prepared the document and signed as Mr. Daniel Sackey to claim the blocked money, and the one who assisted him in committing this crime was Vicky Donckers. B 1976.0.

It was at the bank that Mr. Sackey detected that Mr. Pingnet Ludo had forged his signature and withdrew the money before the fixed date to move into the apartment in July 2002. Since all those years he had been living in that apartment before the problems surfaced, Mr. Pingnet had already stolen the money deposited at the bank.

The Belgian landlords who usually do that to foreigners have a way to enjoy their criminal activities with impunity. Mr. Pingnet has reported Mr. Sackey to the police, that he owes him, but didn’t tell the police the reason he has delayed giving him his money.

Mr. Sackey has to go to the police station to meet the head inspector Van den Broeck Sven, and show him the forged signature of Mr. Pingnet, but nothing was done in his favor. That is Belgium, a country I have been living in for the past sixteen years. Nothing is done in favor of Africans; thus, most of the landlords are criminals.

To what extent can a bank conspire or collaborate with someone to steal money that belongs to another person with impunity? This is possible in Belgium because the victim of the fraud is African.

Mr. Sackey pointed out to the bank official that it’s a crime. The best way to defend is to attack. The bank official wouldn’t accept their fault because they didn’t want to be responsible for the theft, so she got into a quarrel with Mr. Sackey.

When Mr. Sakey told her that she would inform the police, she accepted and urged him to do the report because she knew her country very well; nothing is done in favor of an African, moreover, the media will never publish his story.

There is a time for everything. A time to come into this world and a time to die. A time to be happy and a time to be sad. African- victims of such injustices have no power to prosecute them but a time will come when those people may meet their Waterloo, which may be a painful situation than what this poor African went through but they may never understand.

 

Read more: https://juskosave.blogspot.com/2016/11/how-fortis-bank-bank-assisted-belgian.html