September 3 – Kevin De Bruyne’s agent Patrick De Koster (pictured left) is to remain in custody after his formal arrest last Friday.
Authorities raided De Koster’s offices last week in Knokke, Brussels and Senegal, where he runs J&S International Football Management. The agent was detained and arrested on suspicion of money laundering, use of false documents and forgery in an investigation by Belgium’s Central Service for the Fight against Corruption (CDBC).
His lawyer Louis De Groote has confirmed that it was De Bruyne himself who filed complaint against his agent in 2019. The investigation focuses on commissions would have banked when the Belgian midfielder played for Wolfsburg in 2014 and 2015. De Groote said: “Mr. De Koster has always done everything in the interest of Mr. De Bruyne, until his arrest last week. Everything happened transparently. We are totally indignant.”
De Groote’s request for De Koster to be released was however rejected, with the court confirming his temporary custody.
In Belgium, De Koster rose to prominence as manager of Manchester City star De Bruyne. In 2015, he banked, along with his former business partner Didier Frenay, 10% of De Bruyne’s €75 million transfer from Wolfsburg to City. De Koster’s player representation portfolio also includes Standard Liege goalkeeper Arnaud Bodart and Brugge defender Maxim De Cuyper.
Jean-Pierre Bulye, another lawyer for De Koster, said: “Invoices were drawn up for all commissions and there are indeed a number of amounts that are subject to discussion. There may have been errors about some amounts, but certainly not about the large sums that were discussed. In any case, there has never been any bad faith.”
This week, De Bruyne received dispensation from training with the Belgian national team until after the birth of his third child. Roberto Martinez’s team will meet Denmark and Iceland in this month’s Nations League fixtures.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1713998853labto1713998853ofdlr1713998853owedi1713998853sni@o1713998853fni1713998853