The Lotus case followed an extensive investigation into a criminal organisation involved in the trafficking and sexual exploitation of Chinese women. The investigation, which started in January 2021, brought together several ongoing and completed investigations dating back to 2017. On 8 February 2023, a large-scale operation led to simultaneous searches in Belgium and Spain and the arrest of numerous suspects. The investigation was completed in 2025, with 38 persons ultimately referred to the criminal court on charges including human trafficking with aggravating circumstances and leadership or participation in a criminal organisation.

According to the court, the organisation recruited more than 100 Chinese women in financially vulnerable situations, using promises of well-paid employment in Europe. Most were initially brought to Spain or Poland, where they obtained temporary residence documents, before being transported to other European countries, including Belgium. The women were required to repay the costs of their journey and residence documents through prostitution. The organisation had a structured division of tasks covering recruitment, transport, residence documents, advertising, appointments with clients and the collection and redistribution of proceeds. The court found that the women’s vulnerable situation was exploited through means including deception, coercion, threats and abuse of power, and that the offences were committed as part of a criminal organisation.

Of the 38 defendants referred to the criminal court, 33 were convicted and five were acquitted. Twenty-nine defendants were convicted of participation in the criminal organisation and four as its leaders. Four defendants were also convicted of human trafficking with the aggravating circumstance that the offence resulted in the death of a victim, a sex worker who was intentionally killed by a client in 2023. The convicted defendants received prison sentences of up to seven years, as well as fines and confiscation orders. In determining the sentences, the court took into account the organised and systematic nature of the exploitation, the number and vulnerability of the victims and the financial benefit derived from their exploitation.

For further details, please consult the press release issued by the East Flanders Court of First Instance, Ghent division.