Since the first initiated in 2004 by former Finance Minister Didier Reynders (MR), Belgians have benefited from the tax amnesty Single Discharge Declaration (DLU). A circular issued by the National Bank on 8 June raises the problem of possible criminal proceedings for money laundering.

While the reinforcements of measures probably tend to encourage the taxpayers concerned to move towards a DLU4, this could prove to be a blow in the water. In a circular note, the National Bank (NBB) invites banks to verify the origin of the funds repatriated on the occasion of previous tax regularizations and to make a declaration to the CTIF (the Financial Information Processing Unit, which combats money-laundering) in the event that there is any doubt as to the lawfulness of their origin. It is the "look-back" rule that obliges banks to have a strict attitude even for repatriations from the past.

For many bankers, the SNB's objective is above all a "marketing operation" where it makes it clear that it participates in the fight against tax fraud while Belgium has the image of being a "sieve" with the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) ). It is thus an extension of the report of the Court of Auditors which invited the government to develop more active criminal prosecutions.