Prosecutors seek two years for Radja Nainggolan over money laundering
Brussels prosecutors requested two years in prison and an additional €105,000 financial penalty for Radja Nainggolan on 30 October. The footballer is on trial with fifteen others in an international cocaine-trafficking case.
According to BRUZZ’s court reporting, Nainggolan is prosecuted for money laundering, rather than drug trafficking or membership of a criminal organisation. Prosecutors allege he received €105,000 in cash from Nasr-Eddine Sekkaki and repaid it in instalments into Sekkaki’s mother’s account, referring to fictitious building work in the transfers.
Nainggolan said the money was a loan because his Italian accounts had been frozen during his divorce. He said he had not known Sekkaki’s criminal background. His defence disputes that he knowingly assisted money laundering and has announced it will seek an acquittal. His lawyers are due to address the court on 13 November.
The investigation began in March 2023 into suspected cocaine imports from South America through Antwerp. Thirty searches in January 2025 led to eighteen arrests. In March 2026, a Brussels pretrial court sent sixteen people for trial and discontinued proceedings against three others. Prosecutors seek up to fourteen years and fines up to €800,000 for the alleged leaders.
