Prince Laurent pays back €16,000 to Belgium

Prince Laurent earlier this month refunded €16,000 to the Belgian state, three months after it was discovered that the prince had unlawfully included private spending in official expenses. King Philippe's brother has now reimbursed the amount he fraudulently claimed as expenses, though he did so mainly under pressure from prime minister Charles Michel, writes Het Nieuwsblad.

Prince Laurent's spending came under fire after it was discovered in October last year that the prince had submitted personal expenses as business expenses, including supermarket receipts, bills from a skiing holiday and educational costs for his three children. The Belgian Court of Auditors, the financial watchdog of the public institutions, responded by releasing a critical report on the prince's spending.

The exact amount that was wrongly declared in 2014 is not yet known, but at least part of the funds have been repaid.

Prince Laurent receives a €307,000 annual allowance, part of which is paid as a salary, while the rest should be used for official activities.