Vansteenkiste was arrested two weeks ago. His wife showed up at the prison every day at 05.30 with clean clothes and toilet articles, but she was repeatedly denied access to her husband.

According to reports, Vansteenkiste was determined not to respond to attempts to pressure him into confessing. When a single-occupancy cell was found for him, he refused to move, and occupied his time by giving his two cellmates lessons in Dutch.

The investigation covers the sale of shares in Fortis bank at €5.40 by Compagnie Bois Sauvage, of which Vansteenkiste was a director, just days before the share price collapsed to €1.50. Vansteenkiste was also a director of Fortis at the time.

According to his lawyer, speaking outside the prison following the release, Vansteenkiste “remains in the same position as before, that he has nothing with which to reproach himself.” His release was conditional, he said, without revealing the nature of the conditions.