After serving a few years he was released, and was involved in a money laundering scheme. His offending escalated until he was participating in armed robberies of security vans that occurred so  frequently that they led to greatly increased security. He left the country for a time, but on  14 January 1989 he was one of those who kidnapped former Belgian prime minister Paul Vanden Boeynants, releasing Vanden Boeynants on  13 February 1989 for a reportedly huge ransom.
After serving a few years, he was released and became involved in money laundering activities. His criminal actions escalated until he participated in armed robberies of security vans that occurred so frequently they led to heightened security measures. He left the country temporarily but on January 14, 1989, he was one of those who kidnapped former Belgian Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants. He released Vanden Boeynants on February 13, 1989 for a substantial ransom.