Sihame El Kaouakibi (born 9 July 1986) is a Belgian politician and the founder of the ''Let's Go Urban'' project. In 2021, she was accused of fraudulent use of government

subsidies A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...

. Almost 1 million euro is claimed to have been used for her own profit.

Biography

El Kaouakibi grew up in

Boom Boom may refer to: Objects * Boom (containment), a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill * Boom (navigational barrier), an obstacle used to control or block marine navigation * Boom (sailing), a sailboat part * Boom (windsurfi ...

as one of seven children. In 2009 El Kaouakibi founded ''Let's Go Urban'', in 2013 ''Youth and Urban Projects'' and in 2014 ''A Woman's View''. In 2014 she was nominated as a member of the board of directors of the Flemish Radio and Television Broadcasting Organisation by the political party

OpenVLD french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts , abbreviation = Open Vld , logo = , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert , foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld) , predecessor = P ...

. In 2019 the OpenVld placed her on their electoral list for the

Flemish Parliament The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: , formerly called Flemish Council or ''Vlaamse Raad'') constitutes the legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and as a cultural communi ...

. She was elected with 10704 votes. In 2021 she left the party after the financial scandal broke lose. Currently, she is still active in the

Flemish parliament The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: , formerly called Flemish Council or ''Vlaamse Raad'') constitutes the legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and as a cultural communi ...

as an

independent politician An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

, but has been on sick leave since October 2020.

Financial scandals

In February 2021 an inquiry was opened for potential financial fraud at her organisation ''Let's Go Urban''. An independent audit was performed and several obscure financial constructions were found. Following the potential problems found by the audit, the city of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

opened an investigation regarding several thousands in subsidies given to ''Let's Go Urban'' to figure out what happened with the money. In addition to the above investigations, the public prosecutor's office of Antwerp also opened an investigation regarding the potential fraud by El Kaouakibi. El Kaouakibi herself filed a complaint against unknown persons. According to her, documents were adjusted and leaked to the press. On 28 March

VTM Nieuws VTM Nieuws is the name of the daily news broadcasts on the Flemish television network VTM (TV channel), VTM. The bulletins were the first competition to VRT NWS Journaal, the news programmes broadcast by the Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporgan ...

provided evidence of potential fraud with invoices. In a preliminary report, a potential of 450,000 euro in subsidies was embezzled from ''Let's Go Urban'' to El Kaouakibi's private accounts. Based on the preliminary report regarding potential embezzlement, the

Federal Public Service Interior The FPS Interior ( nl, FOD Binnenlandse Zaken, french: SPF Intérieur, german: FÖD Inneres), formerly the Ministry of the Interior, is a Federal Public Service of Belgium. It was created by Royal Order on January 14, 2002, as part of the plans o ...

started an investigation regarding subsidies given to ''WeLoveBxl'', the Brussels branch of ''Let's Go Urban''. In early April 2021 the city of Antwerp had the assets of El Kaouakibi seized after reports that she wanted to sell real estate. A new audit from the city of Antwerp showed that 350,000 euro was embezzled.

Awards

* 2018: Global Diversity Award by Stanton Chase.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaouakibi, Sihame 21st-century Belgian politicians Living people 1986 births Vrije Universiteit Brussel alumni 21st-century Belgian women politicians