Ex-Roma and Belgian footballer faces cocaine cash laundering charges
The Belgian footballer Radja Nainggolan is to go on trial alongside 15 other suspects over his alleged involvement in international drug trafficking.The former Roma player and member of the Belgian national squad, the Red Devils, was arrested in January and charged with membership of a criminal organisation.He will now stand trial before a criminal court in a case involving the importation of cocaine from South America.In follows an investigation by the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office two years ago into a crime gang that was suspected of organising the unloading of containers at the port of Antwerp, with drugs, mainly cocaine, trafficked onwards.Read moreCops return cars, motorbikes, jet ski and cash seized from businessman in organised crime probeWhile the footballer has denied any involvement in drug-related offences, he will still have to answer to the criminal court on money laundering charges.Among the various charges are “concealing the nature, origin, location, disposal, movement or ownership of criminal assets”.Although Nainggolan himself is not accused of drug trafficking he appeared on investigators’ radars when they discovered he had received over €100,000 from Nasr-Eddine Sekkaki, the younger brother of the notorious criminal Ashraf Sekkaki.It is alleged that these suspicious financial transactions between Sekkaki and Nainggolan drew the investigators’ attention to the footballer.Initially, Nainggolan stated he lent the money to Sekkaki but later admitted he had actually borrowed the sum from Sekkaki due to financial challenges brought about by a divorce.Sekkaki, a bank robber described by Interpol as one of Belgium’s most dangerous criminals, had previously escaped from jail in 2003 and spent five months on the run.He hit the headlines again in August 2009 when he and two fellow Moroccan inmates escaped from a jail near the city of Bruges on 23 July.Crime Wrap Tuesday March 24 They made their break in a helicopter that had been hijacked by their accomplices that later found abandoned by a main road in Morocco.In addition to Nainggolan, 15 other suspects will have to appear before the criminal court.Two of them are on trial for the same alleged offence as the former Red Devil, The Brussels Times reports, but the defendants will also have to answer, amongst other charged, “for the import, export and transport of substances without a licence, with aggravating circumstances, membership of a criminal organisation and possession of a vehicle with a hidden compartment”Three of the referred suspects will stand trial as leaders of the criminal organisation.Nainggolan was arrested in January as part of an ongoing investigation by the Brussels public prosecutor’s office into drug trafficking operations from South America to Europe.He spent a night in jail and had his car seized by authorities as he was held as a suspected member of a criminal gang. The arrest came amid 30 searches conducted by police across Brussels and Antwerp.The incident marks another controversial chapter in Nainggolan’s turbulent career, which has been marred by disciplinary issues. n 2018, while playing for Roma, he was dropped and fined after posting a video on social media appearing intoxicated.In 2022, during his spell at Royal Antwerp, he was suspended after being seen smoking an electronic cigarette on the bench, an act the club claimed set a poor example for younger players. Despite the latest controversy, Nainggolan’s current club Lokeren defended him publicly.Read moreJohn George murder suspect and OnlyFans wife arrested again after shotgun and pistol findIn October 2025, Lokeren chairman Van Duysen has come to Nainggolan’s defence, stating that the offences are only alleged and that the player should only face punishment if the charges are proven. “He hasn’t been charged yet, let alone convicted in the first instance or on appeal. So you can’t just assume he’ll get five years in prison,” he told HLN.“Fortunately, we still live in a constitutional state. A person is innocent until proven guilty. Radja has the right to a fair trial.”Van Duysen also acknowledged the negative attention surrounding the case due to Nainggolan’s decorated career, saying: “This isn’t pleasant. We’re a football club with a certain level of visibility and press coverage. If Radja were a grey mouse, you wouldn’t call. But as a former Rode Duivel, he has a media-savvy past.”
