Brussels - A former Belgian government minister is being held in connection with the 1991 contract killing of the former deputy prime minister, Andre Cools, a judicial source said yesterday.
Mr Alain Van der Biest (58) was arrested on Monday at his home in the eastern Belgian city of Liege. He was among nine people sought in connection with the murder that rocked Belgian politics.
Cools was shot dead outside his mistress's home near Liege in 1991, in a case that unleashed a cascade of scandals including one involving bribes paid out by Italian military helicopter maker Augusta. Cools, a Socialist and major figure in Belgian politics, was the political mentor of Mr Van der Biest, who had been questioned and released in the past in connection with the killing.