Richard Fournaux and the casino’s €300,000 legal debt
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7 Jan 2026 •
Reading time: 3 minutes 27 years after the first complaints relating to the concession of the Dinant casino, Richard Fournaux is once again before the courts. Not for criminal charges, but for the payment of more than €300,000 in legal fees.
A long-running affair
The story began in 1999 with rivalries over the concession of the Dinant casino. Former operators who had been ousted from the management of the establishment lodged a complaint. They felt that they had been illegitimately excluded from the contract. At the time, Richard Fournaux was mayor of Dinant and a key figure in the disputed decision.
The case quickly escalated. Searches, indictments, public debates: the casino affair was more than just a commercial dispute. For more than a decade, the mayor had to deal with heavy criminal proceedings, which had a lasting impact on his political career and the town’s image.
In 2012, the Liège Court of Appeal put an end to the criminal part of the case. Richard Fournaux was definitively acquitted. For many people, this decision marked the end of a long legal nightmare. But behind this acquittal lies a thorny issue: the cost of the defence. This is now the subject of a separate dispute, this time before the civil courts.
More than €300,000 in disputed fees
Two invoices account for the bulk of the amounts claimed. A law firm in Dinant is claiming around 211,000 euros for services provided during the years of proceedings. To this sum must be added a bill for 109,000 euros from a Brussels lawyer.
The lawyers concerned believe that their client has not honoured his financial commitments. They are claiming not only payment of the fees, but also default interest, calculated on the basis of formal notices that have remained without effect. In their pleadings, they describe Richard Fournaux as a bad payer.
But the mayor’s defence rested on one main argument: the costs incurred had not only served his personal interests, but also those of the City of Dinant. As a result, Richard Fournaux believes that the City should contribute, in whole or in part, to paying the fees.
The setback at the Dinant Civil Court
In January 2023, the Dinant civil court ruled on the dispute. The judgement, handed down on 26 January, did not find in favour of the Mayor. The judges considered that the arguments put forward to justify financial intervention by the City were not convincing.
One of the central points of the court’s reasoning was what the court described as an original error. Richard Fournaux organised his defence without formally involving the City from the outset of the criminal proceedings, and the municipality did not intervene voluntarily when the case was initiated, which weakens, a posteriori, the argument that the defence was conducted in the municipal interest.
Furthermore, in August 2014, the municipal college had the council adopt a resolution providing for the payment of fees of up to 266,000 euros. However, the decision was overturned by the Regional Council. In the casino case, the mayor had not acted in the normal course of his duties. As a result, the local authority’s assumption of responsibility was deemed to be legally fragile, if not unjustified.
The Liège Court of Appeal, a new stage in the debate
In early February, the case will be heard by the Liège Court of Appeal, before a panel of three judges. This is a crucial stage that some describe as a last chance to put forward their interpretation of the case.
The Mayor will be defended by a new lawyer, Mr David Poelaert. The City of Dinant, also a party to the proceedings, will be represented by Mr Bayer.
The case is all the more complex in that it spans almost three decades. Rules, practices and even institutional players have changed.