The Belgian prosecutor's office has charged the former head of the Senate, Armand De Decker, with abuse of official power. 

According to the investigation, he used his position to stop the prosecution of  the Kazakh-Uzbek billionaire Patokh Chodiev, who has Belgian citizenship, TASS reported citing the RTBF TV channel.

The prosecutor's office suspects De Decker of receiving a bribe of € 700,000 in 2011. In return, De Decker allegedly pressured the justice ministry and promoted  the rapid adoption of new laws that prevented the prosecution of Chodiev in Belgium.