Stefaan heads the Litigation, Arbitration and Investigations practice of Linklaters in Belgium, and was from 2021 to 2026 also the managing partner of the Belgian offices of Linklaters. His work focuses on multidisciplinary cross-border investigations (including regulatory and white-collar), with an emphasis on EU financial and supervisory law, EU AML and EU sanctions legislation. He further often acts in multijurisdictional banking and finance disputes, including in regulatory procedures involving EU and national financial supervisory authorities. Through this work, he is very familiar with the interplay between European and national law rules, including in relation to the relevance of EU law and fundamental rights in regulatory investigations and compliance proceedings. Stefaan has also extensively worked on banking restructurings in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis for key Benelux, French and German financial institutions, and has been significantly involved in sovereign debt restructuring work, including in the wake of the 2010-2011 eurozone debt crisis. He is finally at the forefront of a number of strategic EU thought-leadership initiatives, such as on EU AML and sanctions, on the changing European banking landscape, and on EU regulatory and institutional developments.
Legal500 recognizes Stefaan as a Leading Individual for Dispute Resolution in Belgium, reflecting his expertise in contentious regulatory matters. Under his leadership, the Belgian litigation, arbitration, and investigations practice is ranked Band 2 by Chambers. Stefaan is currently based in Brussels but has previously worked in the New York and London offices of Linklaters. He has also worked for a number of years as Senior Legal Counsel at the European Central Bank (Financial Law Division). He has degrees in both law and economics, and is admitted to the Brussels Bar (current) and New York Bar (past).
Stefaan is the author of a book entitled Money, monetary claims and foreign exchange. Belgian, European and international perspective (Brussels, Larcier, 2007, 418 p.) as well as of numerous articles in law reviews and books (see Section “Published works”). He regularly gives his expert view in the international media on issues of topical interest, such as, for instance, on EU developments in the area of AML, on the aftermath of the financial crisis and the eurozone debt crisis, and on sovereign default. He is also a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars on a variety of topics, such as corporate accountability and governance, compliance and crisis management.
Stefaan holds a bachelor degree in Law from Namur University and a master degree in Law from Leuven University (with an Erasmus exchange year at Heidelberg University), as well as a postmaster degree in Company Law from Brussels and Leuven Universities, and an LL.M. from New York University. He also has a bachelor degree in Economics from Namur University.
He is fluent in Dutch (mother tongue), French, English and German.
Stefaan is the author of a book entitled Money, monetary claims and foreign exchange. Belgian, European and international perspective (Brussels, Larcier, 2007, 418 p.; original title: Geld, Geldschulden en deviezen. Belgisch, Europees en internationaal perspectief), as well as of numerous articles in legal reviews and books (see below for selection; full list of publications is available upon request):
On EU AML:
On EU Sanctions:
On EU financial supervisory proceedings:
On EU-restructuring & insolvency:
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