Sale and lease back bij NMBS: “onderste steen moet boven”
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Uit onderzoek van het weekblad Le Vif blijkt dat spoorwegmaatschappij NMBS tussen 2001 en 2003 een deel van haar activa aan Amerikaanse trusts verkocht, om het vervolgens van diezelfde trusts terug te huren. “Een groot deel van het materieel en de infrastructuur van het overheidsbedrijf wordt dus voor grof geld verhuurd aan onszelf door particuliere Amerikaanse entiteiten”, zegt Kamerlid Frank Troosters, die hierover deze middag minister van Mobiliteit Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) zal ondervragen. “En gedurende twintig jaar werd dit zoveelste schandaal van de paars-groene roversregering van oud-premier Guy Verhofstadt geheim gehouden.”
“Het is een nieuw lijk uit de paars-groene regeerperiode van Guy Verhofstadt (Open Vld) dat na vele jaren uit de kast komt vallen”, aldus Troosters. “De periode met de vele ‘sale and lease back’-operaties van onder meer overheidsgebouwen, waar we ons tot vandaag blauw aan betalen. De leasingcontracten in kwestie hebben looptijden tot 28 jaar.”
“Niet de NMBS of Infrabel maar Amerikaanse trusts uit Delaware zijn dus eigenaar van heel wat rollend materieel, telecommunicatieapparatuur, rangeerterreinen, hogesnelheidslijnen en administratieve gebouwen”, vervolgt Troosters. “Het is dan ook nauwelijks te geloven dat minister Gilkinet, zoals hij momenteel laat uitschijnen, van niets afweet. De minister laat enkel verstaan ‘opheldering te willen’ over alle lopende cross-border-leasingcontracten tussen de NMBS en de trusts.”
“Het gaat hier over enorme bedragen. Volgens het Rekenhof heeft het alternatieve financieringssysteem een enorme impact op de rekeningen van de NMBS-groep: op 31 december 2011 was er een aan de cross-borderleasing gelieerde nettoschuld van 1,1 miljard euro, een derde van de geconsolideerde nettoschuld van de groep”, besluit Troosters. “Het is ongehoord slecht bestuur dat een overheid eigen infrastructuur verkoopt om ze daarna terug te huren. Over deze kwestie moet dringend opheldering komen. De onderste steen moet boven en de roversregering van Verhofstadt en de deelnemende partijen moeten eindelijk verantwoording afleggen!”