The charges against Omega Diamonds allege that the company cheated the tax authorities of up to €2 billion by using falsified documents to cover up the buying and selling of diamonds, some of which may have come from war zones where trade in the stones – known as blood diamonds – is banned.

Last week the prosecutor’s office announced it had made a deal with the company on the payment of back taxes plus a fine of €160 million. In return, the case will be dropped, and the executives involved will face no further legal action.

Jos Vander Velpen, the lawyer of a man who worked for the company and whose own lawsuit against Omega was connected to the prosecutor’s case – a routine occurrence in Belgian criminal cases – said he will not allow the matter to rest with a settlement. Since the action against Omega is now dropped, his client is now faced with a solitary suit against his former employers.

Vander Velpen pointed out that the charges were not only tax evasion but also criminal conspiracy, which he argues takes it out of the sphere of a law allowing tax evaders to “buy off ” any prosecution against them.

The deal was also criticised by economist Geert Noels, for the way it was hammered out behind closed doors. “The details of the agreement ought to have been made public so that at least the appearance of two-track justice would be removed,” he commented. “Then everyone would be able to judge.”