Belgium’s council of ministers has today approved the nomination of former justice minister Stefaan De Clerck as chairman of incumbent Belgacom. Four new directors have also been appointed.
Although De Clerck had been tipped as the state-owned…
Belgium’s council of ministers has today approved the nomination of former justice minister Stefaan De Clerck as chairman of incumbent Belgacom. Four new directors have also been appointed.
Although De Clerck had been tipped as the state-owned company’s next chairman for a few weeks now, he was not expected to succeed interim chairman Michel Moll so rapidly, reports local newspapers.
Moll, who had been a Belgacom board director since 1994 and interim chairman for the past 18 months, left the operator after he reportedly acknowledged to have been a strategic consultant for Chinese telecoms vendor Huawei since 2010.
However, Moll was quoted highlighting that he never provided strategic advice about Belgium or Europe to Huawei, which has always denied its ties with the Chinese government.
Under Belgian regulations, a Belgacom director is not allowed to hold another position with a company operating in the telecoms sector.
Separately, Belgacom confirmed on Monday that it found “traces of a digital intrusion in the company’s internal IT system”. The company said it “strongly” condemns the intrusion and has filed a complaint against an unknown third party.
Belgacom “is granting its full support to the investigation that is being performed by the Federal Prosecutor”, it added.
It remains unclear who may be at the origin of this intrusion but German weekly magazine Der Spiegel wrote today, citing documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden, that Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency may be responsible.
