SABAM Charged With Copyright Fraud, Embezzlement, Money Laundering

Fucking Classic. Can you smell the hypocrisy?

Belgium – home of child murders and paedophile rings. Also, it would appear, they have a bit of a problem with their “Société d’Auteurs Belge – Belgische Auteurs Maatschappij” or, more simply put, music industry leeches. You know, people like the RIAA and MPAA and all those other useless parasitic organisations who hang out of the arse end of people who actually have creative talent. You know, the ones who are always whining on about their `community` of artists, and how they are being defrauded, stolen from by those awful, dishonest internet `pirates`.

Well it would seem that SABAM are a little less than honest themselves. Copyright Fraud? Oh dear, that doesn’t look good does it now? Embezzlement?? That’s even worse, not to mention money laundering. Wow, just imagine what they haven’t been caught for yet. You know how icebergs work.

Back in 2004, a Belgian composer filed a complaint against local music rights group SABAM.
Philippe Delhaye, an associate member of SABAM, claimed that there had been “breaches” in the correct payment of his royalties.

Former financial directors Jean Huysmans and Marcel Raiglot, as well as current finance director Luc Van Oycke are being held accountable for corruption and forgery. No way. You’re kidding. I thought all these people were good, honest people. Like the kind of straight up chaps who work for the RIAA. They are all about ensuring everyone else is OK, aren’t they?

“We are pleased that the merits of the case will be heard by the criminal court,” says SABAM general manager Christophe Depreter. “I am fully confident that we can show that nothing wrong happened.”

Presumably in the same way that BP `showed` that recent oil spills were `nothing to do with them`…

A date has not yet been set for the court hearing.