Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) October 29, 2026 – A comprehensive audit report released by the Court of Auditors has revealed that the failed i-Police digitalisation initiative cost Belgian taxpayers 139.4 million euros, nearly doubling the initial 76 million euro estimate previously reported to parliament. The independent review detailed extensive financial losses, including 30 million euros spent on software licences, 21.6 million euros of which are now entirely unusable. The report also highlighted structural dependencies on costly external IT consultants and procedural oversights concerning unfulfilled project milestones, alongside an ongoing judicial investigation into alleged public funds misappropriation and conflicts of interest.

The Court of Auditors published a thorough financial and operational review of the aborted i-Police project on Wednesday morning, confirming that total expenditure reached 139.4 million euros before the initiative was formally cancelled. The findings significantly exceed the 75.8 million euro figure previously disclosed to the Chamber Home Affairs Committee by Interior Minister Bernard Quintin earlier this year, validating earlier concerns raised by members of parliament that the total financial loss was markedly higher than officially acknowledged.

Why Did the Court of Auditors Re-examine the Total Cost of the i-Police Project?

The Court of Auditors initiated its deep-dive audit following a direct request from the Belgian Parliament after growing political scrutiny surrounding the lack of operational deliverables produced by the multi-million euro IT initiative.

The i-Police project was originally launched at the end of 2021 under former Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden with the goal of modernising police operations, integrating fragmented data systems into a unified digital platform, and enhancing the speed of risk detection and criminal network tracking. To execute the transition, the government signed a 299 million euro contract with the French IT consultancy firm Sopra Steria.

However, after years of continuous invoicing and mounting financial outlays, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin, who succeeded Verlinden, terminated the contract in December 2025. Quintin stated at the time that the decision to pull the plug was taken because the initiative had failed to deliver a single tangible result despite millions of euros in public expenditure. During subsequent parliamentary hearings, lawmakers requested a formal review by the state’s financial watchdog to ascertain the true financial scale of the failed project.

How Were Millions of Euros Spent on Unusable Software Licences and External Consultants?

A major portion of the Court of Auditors’ report focuses on procurement inefficiencies, specifically detailing how tens of millions of euros were allocated to software licences that yielded no operational benefit to law enforcement authorities.

According to the Court of Auditors’ report, the government purchased 30 million euros worth of software licences for the i-Police system. The audit established that licences valued at 21.6 million euros—representing 70 per cent of the total licence expenditure—are of no use whatsoever to the police force. Within that sum, software licences worth 7.3 million euros were never deployed or accessed, while licences valued at 14.2 million euros were used strictly during the preliminary development phase but became entirely obsolete once the overarching project was scrapped.

The audit report explicitly noted that internal police evaluations conducted in 2024 and 2025 had already highlighted severe financial risks regarding software procurement:

“The analyses carried out by the police in 2024 and 2025 highlighted a significant financial risk regarding the licences. After all, the costs are not limited to the initial purchase, as the costs for maintenance, support and renewal span several years. These costs can become problematic if the solutions in question are not rolled out, are only partially utilised, or if the future of the project to which they belong is uncertain.”

Beyond software procurement, the Court of Auditors identified a persistent structural reliance on third-party contractors for core technical capabilities. The audit revealed that the Belgian police and state apparatus became structurally dependent on external consultants to execute critical IT functions. The report pointed out that official police recruitment conditions were poorly suited to attract specialised, highly qualified technology professionals, a vulnerability exacerbated by a broader shortage of IT personnel in the labor market and high private-sector salary expectations.

Furthermore, the audit highlighted serious failures in project management regarding two designated “quick wins”—pilot milestones scheduled for completion within 12 to 18 months of the project’s inception. These milestones were intended to serve as contractual evaluation points that would allow the police to halt the programme if performance criteria were missed. The Court of Auditors established that no clear parameters were defined for these pilot phases, and the police proceeded to commission follow-up projects worth tens of millions of euros before the initial pilot projects had been completed or evaluated.

What Is the Status of the Judicial Investigation into the i-Police Debacle?

The Court of Auditors emphasized in its publication that its mandate was strictly confined to auditing the financial records and administrative case file, without assigning legal responsibility or criminal fault to specific individuals.

Concurrently, a criminal investigation led by the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office remains active, examining allegations of the misappropriation of public funds and potential conflicts of interest surrounding the procurement process. Scrutiny has centered on former Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden, following disclosures that she had represented Sopra Steria as a lawyer shortly before assuming her ministerial cabinet post in 2020.

The judicial probe expanded earlier this week after authorities confirmed that two high-profile communications officials were formally named as suspects. The spokesperson for Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden and a spokesperson for the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office are both under active investigation for alleged breaches of professional confidentiality linked to the ongoing case file.

What Is the Background of the i-Police Project and Its Subsequent Cancellation?

The i-Police program was conceptualised as the flagship digital transformation initiative for Belgium’s federal and local police services. By consolidating disparate databases into a single, real-time information hub, the platform was intended to streamline administrative workflows, simplify case management, and provide front-line officers with immediate access to intelligence across jurisdictional lines.

Following the signing of the 299 million euro contract with Sopra Steria in late 2021, the initiative encountered repeated technical delays, governance disputes, and mounting budget overruns. By late 2025, after nearly four years of development work and approximately 76 million euros in direct vendor invoicing, the system remained unoperational in field conditions.

The decision by Interior Minister Bernard Quintin to scrap the project in December 2025 triggered political demands for financial accountability, culminating in the formal parliamentary referral to the Court of Auditors. The watchdog’s final accounting of 139.4 million euros incorporates non-vendor costs, internal administrative outlays, software maintenance obligations, and technical infrastructure investments that were omitted from initial minister-level disclosures.

How Will the Audit Findings Impact Future Government IT Infrastructure and Public Procurement?

The findings published by the Court of Auditors are expected to influence political debates, administrative reform proposals, and public sector procurement frameworks across Belgian federal departments.

1. Re-evaluation of Large-Scale Public Sector IT Contracts

The disclosure of a 139.4 million euro loss is likely to prompt stricter legislative oversight over future large-scale technology procurements. Parliamentary committees and financial regulators may push for mandatory, binding milestone evaluations and stricter caps on software licence pre-purchasing to prevent public authorities from incurring long-term maintenance costs on unrolled software.

2. Reform of State IT Recruitment and Salary Structures

The Court of Auditors’ emphasis on the state’s “structural dependence” on external consultants highlights systemic vulnerabilities in civil service recruitment. To reduce reliance on high-cost consulting firms like Sopra Steria, federal agencies may face pressure to adjust public sector compensation packages for specialized IT roles, enabling the state to build in-house technical oversight and manage complex digital architectures directly.

3. Legal and Political Ramifications Following Judicial Enquiries

As the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office continues its criminal investigation into public fund misappropriation, conflict of interest claims, and breaches of confidentiality, the detailed expenditure figures provided by the Court of Auditors will serve as baseline documentation for judicial authorities assessing the governance and financial execution of the contract.