समाचार

STATEMENT BY OUR LAWYER HANS VAN DE WAL (ELEGIS)

ANTWERP, 25 November 2023

Dear Vitae-members,

After consultation with the core team of wearevitae.org, I herewith send you an update on the state of play.

Allow me to first emphasize that I remain convinced that our legal arguments in the case against the Belgian State for compensation are solid. The claim/lawsuit on behalf of 20.000 affiliated Vitae members against the Belgian State has been initiated and is only waiting to be continued due to juridical technical issues: the court in Brussels has ruled that the outcome of the criminal investigation has to be awaited before the claim can be dealt with.

While I understand it is frustrating to be lacking information on this criminal investigation, this is simply due to the fact that the 20.000 represented by myself have no official capacity in the investigation (not as a suspect nor as officially registered victim) and therefore we don’t have access to the case file. 

Moreover, even if information on the investigation would be obtained, both the professional secrecy of lawyers in Belgium and the secrecy of Belgian juridical investigations would prevent me from making public statements on the content of the file on a website accessible to all, even those who did not register.

For now, we can only wait for the outcome of the investigation. Please rest assured that regardless of the outcome, the claim against the Belgian State can be pursued anyhow.

As soon as legally and practically possible we will communicate an update on the case.

Kind regards,

Hans Van de Wal

Advocaat | Avocat | Attorney at law

Dear friends and members of the Vitae community,

We are writing to bring you up to date on recent events that have profoundly impacted Vitae AG. It is with a heavy heart that we must report that bankruptcy  proceedings have been initiated against our company, all due to the actions of one 

of our former employees. 

We want to inform you that Vitae AG has appealed this decision.

In light of these circumstances, it is crucial to understand that the ongoing legal  proceedings safeguard Vitae AG from bankruptcy even in the event of an unfavorable outcome upon appeal. This safeguard arises from the fact that the 

company's assets have been seized as part of the investigation. During the course of the investigation, the curator is denied access to these assets. It is pertinent to emphasize that once we emerge victorious and the assets are unfrozen, we will be fully capable of settling the outstanding bill, ensuring the complete avoidance of 

bankruptcy for Vitae AG.

This distressing situation arose from unpaid salaries following an intervention by the Belgian authorities, a situation worsened by the unexpected freezing of our  bank accounts on their orders.

It is of utmost importance to distinguish between the Swiss civil ruling that led to these bankruptcy proceedings and the ongoing investigation in Belgium, a matter  we remain steadfast in pursuing relentlessly.

It is an irrefutable fact that the government possesses substantial resources, largely funded by taxpayers. This poses a challenge. However, we emphatically declare that surrender is a concept entirely foreign to us. Every obstacle encountered only ignites our passion to unearth the truth and pursue justice with unwavering determination.

From the outset, we recognized that our journey mirrored the timeless struggle of David against Goliath. Yet, we are far from conceding defeat; in fact, we are just beginning.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our community for their unwavering support  and loyalty throughout this challenging journey. Your encouragement and faith in our cause are the pillars that sustain us as we press onward in pursuit of truth and  justice.

We are Vitae!

Cordially,

Vitae AG

Dear all,

As we discussed during our Zoom meeting, on 9 February 2023, the Court of Appeals in Antwerp ruled on our requests to reopen the Vitae platform and grant us access to our accounts and tokens. 

The requests were denied and basically the reasoning is that the Court says it could be that the platform contains a risk that a possible criminal activity is continued (or resumed).

The Court reasons that the Vitae system could be an illegal scheme, without providing further information. Therefore there is no violation of our property rights pursuant to the European Convention on Human Rights, according to the Court.

I strongly disagree with the reasoning and conclusion of the Court from a legal point of view, since the clients I represent (approximately 20.000 members) are clearly not involved in any illegal activity and the impact on their personal assets should be limited to a minimum. 

Maintaining the freezing order directly harms their interests and it’s up to the authorities and the Belgian judiciary to find a solution that is both quick and stops the damages which continue to increase as long as the freezing order stands.  

Does this mean the case is over? No, not by a long shot. 

Our legal team will continue to be involved in the criminal case file and deposit new requests to get the platform re-opened in due course, as well as other strategic actions we will report about later. 

Moreover, let’s not forget that we have also initiated court proceedings to hold the Belgian State responsible for all the losses suffered due to freezing the platform in June 2021. If the Vitae system was indeed a big fraud, that would mean the Belgian authorities have allowed people to join for over a year when the investigation was already pending, instead of shutting down the system, therefore allowing the damages to increase greatly and incurring the Belgian State’s liability. 

If Vitae wasn’t a fraud, this means the freezing order is totally out of line. I still haven’t seen solid evidence showing that Vitae was a fraud, and this would mean the Belgian State is responsible for shutting down the system for no good reason. 

Once the criminal case is over and the suspects are acquitted, the claim for compensation can be further pursued.

Meanwhile, our legal team has a strategy to speed up the process before the civil court and get an interim decision on the compensation. I’ll report about it later. 

Since you have informed me that you want to inform the membership about the updates, and therefore the message could be spread and read by third parties, I’m reluctant to oversharing information, since the opponent parties might be reading this information as well and I don’t want to give away our strategy.

Rest assured that we will continue our efforts to achieve a favorable outcome for the members that joined the action.

It could be a long and tiring battle, but it would be wrong to give up because the road is hard. We knew from the start the Belgian authorities would not surrender easily. 

Kind regards,

Hans Van de Wal, Attorney at law

1.  Go to section “LAWSUITS/FOR COMPENSATION” for official documents
2.     And for more details about our case, read also 22 points explaning “Vitae-gate” (under 16 july 2022) and watch the video above.

YOU WILL FIND MORE ABOUT THIS VIDEO AND UPDATES OF THE ONGOING LAWSUITS IN THE 'LAWSUITS' SECTION/ 'FOR THE REOPENING OF THE PLATFORM'

ZOOM wearevitae.org                                                                                                                    June 22, 2022

"VITAE-gate": unanswered questions after more than two years of judicial enquiry 

(The qualification "-gate" is used when an authority or a government does not comply with its own regulations or laws)

Welcome by Karin :

DEAR MEMBERS, it has been 12 months now that the vitae platform has been brutally closed down by the Belgian authorities, without until today we have seen the beginnings of evidence of the serious allegations that were then formulated in the Belgian media.

So this is a sad day, but despite everything we continue to believe in our struggle and that the truth will prevail.

You must understand that it is often impossible to communicate about this to the outside world, while the judicial investigation is still ongoing.

For example, it is almost certain that an infiltrator from the judicial authorities is also listening in on this zoom. We have already said this several times in previous zooms. 

Despite everything, we remain very optimistic, a lot is happening behind the scenes, including by the various lawyers involved in this case. Master Van de Wal will tell you more about this further in this zoom.

Despite the negative picture of the past year that Erik will now give you, great steps forward are being taken. And as said, we remain combative and believe in a positive outcome.

But first a short statement from MENDY & Shrage, one of Vitae's co-founders, read by Anne-Louise:

See our website www.wearevitae.org section: Vitae AG (the original text in English) 

OVERVIEW OF WHAT HAPPENED WITH VITAE AND WEAREVITAE SINCE JUNE 22, 2021, by Erik 

From day one (June 22, 2021) Vitae AG, the company behind the social media platform vitae has been asking for CONCRETE PROOF of the serious allegations made by the Federal Prosecutor's Office.

From day one of its establishment, one month later, the member organization wearevitae.org 

completely separated from the company Vitae AG - has been asking for concrete evidence of a so called "Ponzi and pyramid fraud, money laundering, swindling and criminal organization."

Because the Belgian Justice is not communicating that evidence, we at wearevitae.org have spent the past few months trying to piece together the puzzle ourselves, as we have no access to the ongoing, secret judicial investigation.

The 'Vitae affair' or 'Vitae-gate' is a complex case, so we summarize the puzzle below in 22 points:

1) As far as we know, none of the 220,000 Vitae members (in the beta or development phase) had filed a complaint against Vitae, because none had seen 1 euro/dollar disappear from their digital wallets on the platform until 22 June 2021, when the vitae platform was unexpectedly taken offline by the Belgian Justice Department. On the contrary, many had already earned money through actions on the platform.

2) The judicial process seems to have been started in MARCH 2020 as a result of an official report by a police officer of the Federal Judicial Police (FJP).

3) The same officer of the FJP, who initiated and initially led the investigation (until the Vitae founders filed a complaint against it), went even so far as to ask suspects after their interrogation to join his brother's law firm. That law firm started (a few days after 22/06) to recruit so called "victims" of the same so called “criminal organisation” via its website and against payment of 220 euros +20% on possibly recovered funds.

4) On June 24 of last year the judicial authorities trumpeted out through a press release to the media that they had unravelled a so called “worldwide operating criminal organisation" for ponzi and pyramid fraud and money laundering.

That press release of 24/06/21 caused reputational damage and the media spread the serious allegations, without any evidence at all.

Indeed, you should know that only the source code OR programming code (also named the Gitlab) of the vitae platform contains the REAL TRUTH about ALL THE activities on the platform. But strange enough this code was retrieved eight months later, in February 2022.

5) The media limited themselves to "parrot work": not a single journalist investigated what was presented as a "worldwide criminal organisation operating from Antwerp, which had defrauded 220,000 people in more than 100 countries". 

6) In an interview a lawyer from the mentioned law firm of the police officers brother described the members of Vitae as intellectually retarded, a kind of naïve people who had not yet realised that they were getting ripped off. 

The question was not asked by journalists whether this lawyer had already been given access to an ongoing, yet secret, legal investigation (which is not allowed by Belgian law)!

7) After more than two years of investigation using crude means such as: an infiltrator or undercover agent of the Federal Judicial Police at Vitae, bugging devices, GPS under cars and after June 22th last year taking away all documents and computers, the Belgian judiciary has not yet delivered a single proof of its serious allegations in the media.

• The FJP infiltrator was recruited at Vitae in November 2020 and resigned on 24 March 2021 - coincidence or not, exactly when the FJP police officer initiated the judicial investigation against Vitae. Of course, the management was not aware that an undercover agent was operating in Vitae AG.

8) The public prosecutor stated several times during the ongoing court cases that Vitae would not have had the intention to make the platform publicly available for free (after the beta or development phase) and would not have had the intention to add new products ('features') to the platform. 

This is a Soviet-style intention process and untrue, as the programming code of Vitae clearly mentions which new features would be added to the platform as of the end of June 2021 (specifically: planned for one week after the blocking).

9) During the lawsuit of wearevitae.org against the Belgian State on 21 February 2022, the lawyer of the Belgian State said that the investigating judge had blocked the platform "when enough research had been done, enough evidence collected." 

So why was that evidence not made public on 22 June 2021?

ONCE AGAIN, the only reliable evidence is contained in the programming code/source code or Gitlab of the vitae platform. 

Despite repeated requests from the Vitae founders to analyse that code, it took the intervention of the lawyer of one of the suspects to oblige the investigators in February 2022 (or EIGHT MONTHS after the 22/06/21 allegations in the media) to download a copy of that Gitlab for analysis of all the data in the programming code of the vitae platform. We are waiting to this day for the results of that analysis.

10) More than 20,000 so-called "victims of the Vitae criminal organisation" have banded together in wearevitae.org to sue, at their own expense, the recklessness of the Belgian authorities and to reopen the vitae platform IN THE STATE IT WAS ON 22 JUNE 2021 when it was taken offline.

11) In Belgium, an investigating judge is autonomous and almost omnipotent. This civil servant has a guaranteed salary as a Justice official, has financial resources at his disposal (all at the expense of the taxpayer) and can therefore make an investigation drag on as long as he likes. 

In the Vitae case, the impression soon arose that the investigation was being conducted 'on charges' rather than 'in a neutral manner'.

And as long as the secret judicial investigation is ongoing, the suspects are not allowed to defend themselves publicly to the outside world.

• Vitae has written documents that from its inception at the end of 2018, every effort has been made to ensure from the start that the entire Vitae project complies with the law: Vitae has been assisted by a competent team of lawyers at each of its development phases in Belgium as well as in Switzerland. 

• From day one until the platform was taken offline, Vitae AG spent more than one million euros on studies and actions to bring the platform into compliance with all legal obligations.

• Vitae AG was based in the Swiss Crypto Valley, precisely because Switzerland is the only country in Europe with strict regulation of cryptos: Vitae AG would also pay corporate tax on its worldwide turnover according to the tax rate of 7% in the canton of Zug.

• In April 2021, Vitae AG commissioned international consultants Allen & Overy to check the legality of the Vitae platform and Vitae token in all jurisdictions in which Vitae would operate worldwide.

Other initiatives to ensure the legality of Vitae:

• The Swiss law firm Hütte Law was asked to assist Vitae legally in the establishment and expansion of Vitae AG. An external consultant specialising in crypto was involved.

• In order to answer correctly questions about Vitae by the SEC (SECURITY AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION) in the US, Mr David Luder, an American lawyer, was asked to assist Vitae. The SEC did not charge Vitae with anything.

• One week before taking the platform offline, the management team in Zug was very close to obtain a non-action letter from the Swiss financial regulator FINMA, which would have been the green light to what is known in Switzerland as the 'parabanking sector'.

• Valitax (Ernst & Young) was contacted as a consultant to look into how to apply the VAT legislation worldwide and later the software was installed to settle the VAT worldwide (as each member could see in the section 'Billings' on his/her back office in the platform).

12) THE TIMING FOR TAKING OFFLINE THE VITAE PLATFORM IS HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS.

Indeed, through the undercover agent or infiltrator of the Federal Judicial Police in the management of Vitae AG, the Federal Public Prosecutor must have known that it HAD TO TO BLOCK THE PLATFORM ON 22 JUNE 2021 at the latest. After all, this man wrote the reports of the management team and knew that barely one week later, at the end of June 2021, new features/applications would be placed on the vitae platform (which, by the way, is also programmed that way in Gitlab).

13) As said, Vitae AG would have received a 'non-action-letter' from the Swiss FINMA. AND THEN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO SHOUT "PONZI" FROM THE ROOFTOPS!

Vitae was still in the beta (testing) phase and was building a professional management team.

.

14) Regarding the serious allegations of ponzi and pyramid fraud:

• The Belgian investigators allege that large sums of money were siphoned off from the Vitae platform by individuals who were at the top of the so-called Vitae AG pyramid.

Unless the public prosecutor provides concrete evidence for this (instead of the usual insinuations), almost the entirety of the income from Vitae AG is REDISTRIBUTED AMONG THE USERS OF THE VITAE PLATFORM.

• Vitae's "Terms of service" explicitly state "Vitae is not an investment company nor an investment platform", AND MENDY SAID THIS CLEARLY IN A ZOOM to the members IN MARCH 2021, before the closing of the platform.

• The users of the vitae.co platform can earn money in two ways:

o The networkers through a legal MLM or Multi Level Marketing system (see e.g. Amway in the USA, publicly traded company) by putting their network at the disposal of Vitae. 

In case of success, Vitae networkers receive a commission of approximately 1.4%. This means: if they have brought in at least 10,000 paying users. 

1.4% is anything but an exorbitant fee compared to what similar legitimate MLM companies (Amway, Lucky4all and Herbalife) pay out in commissions. 

For networkers, Vitae in its beta phase was a regular business opportunity, not a pyramid as the public prosecutor claims: it is a completely normal way of working or an alternative sales organisation with the aim of introducing a critical mass of users to the vitae platform as a totally new social media in a relatively short period of time (you can read more about this topic on www.wearevitae.org/LAWSUITS/for compensation/ Statement by Vitae 02.21.2021/What is it really about?)

o Ordinary users are rewarded for their creativity, posts and actions on the vitae.co platform. The difference is that other social media platforms maintain less ethical standards and reap huge profits for their shareholders by selling personal data: after all, “for free” means that the user is the product to be commercialised.

With Vitae, all users are rewarded from the start, as soon as they register, for their activities on the platform, whereas with other social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, You Tube, TikTok) only influencers with a large number of followers earn.

The upgraded members in the beta phase are also rewarded with an extra income in the long run because they have worked as pioneers on testing the platform in its construction phase, but also on condition that they develop their own activities on the platform: "based on your activities" is clearly stated in the 'Terms of service'.

In this way, unlike the American and Chinese tech giants and platforms, the common man in the street in Europe, the US, but also in Vietnam, India, Africa and Latin America has the chance to become financially better in the long run THROUGH ITS ACTIVITIES AND CREATIVITY on the vitae.co platform.

ALSO IN THE FREE phase, in order to acquire a kind of universal basic income in accordance with the motto of Vitae: "GROWING GLOBAL PROSPERITY"  (read also more about this on our website in the section ‘VISION’).

A few hundred dollars extra per month in income, thanks to rewarded activities on the vitae.co platform, can make the difference in poor countries between sending children to school or not, caring for the sick or managing a small family business.

15) Contrary to what the judicial authorities claim, users of the platform are not being misled with what they call "Mickey Mouse Money".

Indeed, what for practical reasons - for a social media platform operating worldwide - are called "credits" as a means of payment (with a counter value equivalent to 1 US dollar) for the users' earnings and activities, can immediately be converted in the user's personal back office into Vitae tokens at a daily exchange rate (which, however, is determined by independent crypto-exchanges).

Crypto-exchanges do not, of course, convert Mickey Mouse money into Bitcoin counter value and then into local fiat money.

Credits and Vitae tokens allow users worldwide to instantly convert their earned credits into their own currency via KYC (Know Your Customer) and two factor authentication.

16) Other strong features of the vitae platform - besides an attractive mechanism of rewards for activities on the platform, an ad-free timeline because personal data is not sold on (thus respecting privacy) - is also freedom of expression (no censorship, but through its own mechanism of social control because for the sharing of 'posts' and 'messages' at Vitae users have to pay).

17) Once more, contrary to what the prosecutor claims,

• Vitae members are not required to pay $200 every month for upgraded membership, and this can be seen in the Gitlab code.

Those who do not do so voluntarily lose their upgraded status and simply become free members: their account turns from green to red, but they remain members of Vitae. The membership is not undone; his/her account is not closed and each account can automatically turn green again over time as a result of his/her own activities and those of others on the vitae.co platform (that is the "RRS or Residual Retention System").

Concretely, this means that an account is never blocked, because if it were, Vitae would effectively be taking members' money, but ... THAT IS exactly WHAT THE BELGIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE BEEN DOING!

• Vitae was not a "smoke screen" because the Vitae social media platform was indeed the product of Vitae AG: after all, Gitlab records that between January 2021 and June 2021, one million photos were uploaded by users (not counting profile pictures). After our research, we find out that surprisingly enough PROPORTIONALLY the vitae-platform had more activities and engagements than Facebook. It was not an empty box, as the prosucutor stated in the court.

• THE PRODUCT OF VITAE IS THE PLATFORM. From day one, where you can freely communicate and not get bombarded by advertisments.

• Vitae was not an "empty box”, pretending that there was no product, because there was indeed a whole series of new features ready to be implemented from the end of June 2021. 

The prosecutor knows this too, as the list is black and white in the reports of the infiltrator of the Federal Judicial Police and also in the Gitlab code.

However, the intervention of the investigating judge on 22/06/21 prevented the implementation of several features in the third and fourth quarter of 2021 (before the public launch)!

18) The members' credits and Vitae tokens did not disappear into Vitae AG's pockets: if someone sends tokens to the platform, it is recorded by the server.

Every X hours and Y minutes the transaction is registered in the database of the vitae platform and in the back office of each member (MBO) in the 'Billings' section. 

The sending of tokens to an offline-wallet - separate from the platform to protect against hackers - is fully in accordance with the usual 'Best Practices'. 

If you consult your bank statements, you will also see virtual numbers indicating that you are entitled to that amount, but it also does not mean that this amount is stored at the bank in a separate vault in the customer's name.

As a specialist in cybercrime, the public prosecutor should know that financial amounts on all similar platforms and crypto-exchanges - as a precaution against hackers - are not on the platform. 

The Belgian Judiciary, however, gives a perverse interpretation to this: "The management is moving that money/tokens from the members to an offline wallet to enrich themselves".

Most judges do not understand this mechanism, but it is all recorded in the Gitlab or programming code of the vitae.co platform.

19) One may wonder whether it is the intention to destroy a European alternative to American and Chinese tech giants?

Indeed, Vitae has the potential to become a European alternative to the increasingly criticised American and Asian tech giants and social media platforms, evolving as a European innovation platform that its own technology companies can build on.

20) A lawyer from the Vitae founders lodged a complaint with Committee P against the police officer who, by means of a police report, had initiated the whole affair and was channelling suspects to his brother's law firm, but the federal public prosecutor was said to have opposed this. 

Committee P is the legal body that monitors police actions for possible derailments, but  what is the use of such a control body if authorities can oppose such an appeal?

21) Is it the intention of the Belgian judicial authorities to let the case drag on until the so-called victims, represented by wearevitae.org (but also the so-called defendants of Vitae AG) are tired and financially drained of procedural costs, give up, so that Vitae AG can go bankrupt? Or do they want the case to be silently swept under the carpet?

Or would it take too much courage to admit that they had acted too rashly and recklessly? After so many drastic means were deployed for this investigation into "the SO CALLED Vitae criminal organisation" and the Belgian judicial authorities shouted from the rooftops that "a worldwide operating ponzi and pyramid organisation, active in more than a hundred countries, was rolled up". 

22) Which journalist or member of parliament will calculate how much the Vitae investigation has already cost the taxpayer? 

While the judicial system does not strictly respect the deadlines in proceedings against/of Vitae AG and wearevitae.org and investigators spend MORE THAN TWO YEARS of time and taxpayers' money on the so called “criminal organization” Vitae WITHOUT PROVIDING EVIDENCE UNTIL NOW, Belgian newspapers wrote several times about the failure of the Belgian judicial system and more specifically concerning the Federal Judicial Police.

TO CONCLUDE:

THE ESSENCE OF "VITAE-GATE" is that since the vitae.co platform was taken offline, the lawyers of Vitae AG and of its member organization wearevitae.org have been asking the Belgian judiciary to provide concrete evidence AFTER MORE THAN TWO YEARS of investigations! 

Instead of "suspicions", general insinuations, distortion of the facts and intention trials.

CONSEQUENTLY, WE MUST CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS AS MASTER VAN DE WAL WILL NOW EXPLAIN.

UPDATE BY OUR LAWYER HANS VAN DE WAL (ELEGIS)

See the zoom of June 22, 2022,on You Tube :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOcZY8vEo_A&t=6s

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS by Karin :

We are coming to the end of this special call and I hope that you now understand better this complicated situation we are in.

It is a complex and intricate matter but this was necessary to make you understand what has been going on for the past year.

That’s why we did tremendous research work. Days,hours,months of work has gone into that .

Everyone can take the time and get informed, that’s why we created this website.

All of you who attent this meeting, be proud because you are at the right place ! 

Thanks 

And yes of course some members have lost their patience ; some had to provide an income for their families. But never forget why you joigned the vision of  Vitae : it was and still is precisely the human vision of Vitae that convinced you to join this project.

This brings me to our founders, Mendy and Shrage, who together with their lawyers continue to work to bring this judicial process in which they are involved in to a successful end ; all the lawyers and the founders are convinced that we will win .

All of these people are working to defend your rights and it is only if you also give the necessary support by paying your contribution of 10€ or more that we can continue our battle together  with our lawyer.

So please take action, get in contact with your teammembers, explain them what has already been done and ask them for their support.They may not attent the meetings but making a contribution must be possible  for all members !

We will win this battle. That’s why you now need to take your phone, give a call to your friends and tell them about this zoom, give the support for your  lawyer, because you need to get this platform opened again, in order to get your rights, freedom of speech and protection of private data again. 

We we will win because we are Vitae, because  ...YOU ARE VITAE !

You will find the updates of the ongoing lawsuits in the ‘LAWSUITS’ section

Lawyer Hans Van de Wal pleaded our cause in the two procedures announced:

• On February 3, 2022, our lawyer pleaded before the Antwerp Indictment Chamber on the basis of article 61 quater of the Belgian Code of Criminal Procedure against the rejection by the investigating judge of the reopening of the vitae.co platform.

• On February 17, the Court of Appeal officially decided to reopen the debate. The public prosecutor had shown legal ingenuity to have our appeal declared inadmissible by the Antwerp Indictment Court. 

Lawyer Van de Wal refused the prosecutor's argument on the basis of existing jurisprudence.

The decision of the Antwerp Indictment Chamber will be delivered on March 10, 2022.

• On February 21, 2022, our lawyer brought a liability action before the Civil Court of Brussels against the Belgian State because of the disproportionate measures taken by the Belgian judicial authorities: after all, there were other possible options than an abrupt shutdown of the vitae.co platform and a blocking of the digital wallets of 220,000 innocent Vitae members. Here too, lawyer Hans Van de Wal pleaded for a reopening of the social media platform as compensation in kind and, in addition, compensation for all damages suffered by users due to their going offline and the collapse of the Vitae token following negative reports in the Belgian media.

The decision by the Dutch-speaking court of first instance in Brussels is expected to follow around March 21, 2022.

There will soon be a "LAWSUITS" section on this site where you can find all the reports of our collective legal actions by lawyer Hans Van de Wal (Elegis). 

We can inform you that our lawyer, Hans Van de Wal of the law firm Elegis, will plead the 

proceedings against the Belgian state before the Civil Court in Brussels on 21 February 2022, 

allowing us to ask for the reopening of the vitae.co platform aswell as a compensation for the 

losses incurred by the members of Vitae as a result of the platform being taken offline by the 

Belgian authorities on June 22, 2021.

Until that fateful day, according to our information, no member of Vitae suffered any damage.

Members of Vitae therefore do not consider themselves victims of Vitae, but of a rash action 

by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office.

For the second procedure that lawyer Van de Wal undertakes on behalf of the Vitae members on 

the basis of Article 61 quater of the Belgian Code of Criminal Procedure, we are still waiting for a date 

to be set for an appeal to the Chamber of Indictments in Antwerp.

Indeed, the request by six members of Vitae for the lifting of the blocking of the vitae.co platform 

was rejected by the investigating judge, claiming that he has no choice but to block the platform in 

order to prevent further criminal activity.

The Vitae members are appealing this decision because they completely disagree: after all, 

alternative measures were possible to conduct the investigation, without 220,000 innocent members

having to become the victims of a sudden takedown of the vitae.co website. platform.

Lawyer Van de Wal has been waiting for more than two months for a date to be set for this appeal, 

although the law stipulates that a decision must be made within fifteen days after the appeal has 

been lodged. 

The appeal was lodged on November 4, 2021 and on January 11, 2022 there was not even an 

invitation to a hearing

As announced, two proceedings have meanwhile been initiated.

FIRSTLY, a request pursuant to art. 61quater CCP (Code on Criminal Proceedings) has been introduced with the investigating judge, asking him to lift all the measures that cause the Vitae platform to be blocked and the e-wallets of the members to be inaccessible.

The request was introduced on behalf of 6 members, since such request has to be introduced individually.

The judge denied the request, basically arguing that he cannot allow the criminal scheme to be continued, maintaining that he had no other option than to block the system to stop the ongoing criminal offences.

We strongly disagree with the reasoning given by the judge, since other measures could have been taken that would not affect the members the way the current measures affect them.

An appeal has been initiated last week and will be argued before the Court of Appeals in Antwerp (Chamber of Accusations) in the next few weeks, allowing us to argue the case before a court for the very first time and question the measures that have been taken.

SECONDLY, a writ of summons has been notified to the Belgian State based on the state’s responsibility for wrongful actions taken by a judge.

The first hearing was scheduled on November 8th and a court calendar will be issued by the court to allow the parties to exchange both written statements and evidence, to have the case argued at a later date.

The court date will be communicated in the next few weeks.

So-called victims of Ponzi fraud around social media platform Vitae work with Belgian lawyer

In June, the Belgian court opened an investigation into the social media platform Vitae. This led to the blocking of the platform and the arrest of some people suspected of participating in a so-called Ponzi fraud.

This “fraud” and the “mass of victims” were reported eagerly in the Belgian media. Some of them have now united and engaged the Belgian lawyer Hans Van de Wal, but not to take civil action against the arrested suspects.

“My clients are convinced that Vitae was not a fraud system and they emphasize in unison that they never lost one euro or dollar before the system was blocked by the Belgian justice system.

Until further notice and since they have seen no evidence to the contrary, they still believe in the system”, explains lawyer Hans Van de Wal on behalf of these members.

“Despite the fact that these people are labeled as victims by the Belgian justice system and in the media, they are mainly confronted with the blocking of a platform and the associated account with a monetary value. They suffer precisely damage from the blockage, damage that was not there before”.

Lawyer Hans Van de Wal finds it strange to note that the property rights of these people are being taken away or restricted on the basis of crimes allegedly committed by other people. They have not even been labeled as suspects.

“It is as if nothing is stolen during a home burglary, but then the entire contents of the victims are confiscated 'in the interest of the investigation'. In such an example no sane person would accept this.The members of Vitae are confronted with a completely similar phenomenon, but with virtual or digital properties. The lack of understanding for such a measure with far-reaching consequences, without the slightest form of explanation, is therefore enormous," emphasizes lawyer Van de Wal.

As one block behind the system

With more than 18,000, they are now the people who stand as one block behind the system and have the file legally investigated.

These are Belgians, Dutch, Germans, French, Vietnamese, Indians, Ghanaians, Swiss, etc.

Initially, these 18,000 litigants did not receive an answer to their request to the investigating judge for more than a month. There was also no response to a notice of default to the Belgian State.

“Not only was a very far-reaching measure taken. In addition, they refuse to give text and explanation about this to the people who bear the label of victim or victim. It goes without saying that the dissatisfaction of these people with the approach of the case by the Belgian Justice is growing.”

“The actions will necessarily be continued with the aim of making the platform accessible to members again. In addition, the Belgian State has been summoned to pay compensation for all damage suffered by these people.”

“After all, at present they see themselves labeled as victims by the judiciary, but the only damage they experience is paradoxically caused precisely by the actions of the judiciary.”

“None of these people lost a single euro before the blocking of the system, so that they dare to doubt

aloud whether this is a Ponzi fraud," adds lawyer Hans Van de Wal.

कईह$ोंकीचु*ीके बाद,वकीलहंसवानडीवाल4ाराभेजेगएप;परजांचकरनेवाले<ायाधीशकी@ितिCया महEपूणHमुIेसेिनपटनेके िबनाअ@ासंिगकिबंदुओंपरMानदेनेयोNऔरकPिQतथी:जूनसेमंचकोअवSTUोंिकया गयाहै,इसके साथिनदXषलोगोंकोनुकसानपZंचारहाहै?

इस @ितिCया को Mान मP रखते Zए, इस स\ाह के दौरान दो िCयाएं की जाती ह^ (अथाHत शुCवार 1 अ_ू बर तक नवीनतम):

•औपचा`रकअनुरोधबेabयमके खोजी<ायाधीशके समc@dुतिकयागयाहै; • बेabयम राe को बुलाया जाएगा (औपचा`रक नोिटस अनुf`रत रहा है);

इसके अित`रg, बेabयन मीिडया (सबसे बड़े समाचार प;ों के साथ-साथ दो टीवी चैनलो)ं को एक @ेस िवia\ के बारे मP सूिचतिकयागयाहै,जो18.000सदjोंपर`रपोिटkगकररहेह^,जोउनके aखलाफकानूनीकारHवाईकरनेके िलएकानूनी कारHवाईकरनेके िलएशािमलहोगएह^,जोिकिकएगएअसंगतउपायपरिवचारकरतेह^।

आप अभी भी न्यायिक कार्रवाई में शामिल हो सकते हैं

वकील हंस वान डी वाल के साथ ज़ूम के बाद, अधिक लोग उसके न्यायिक समूह की कार्रवाई में शामिल होना चाहते हैं।

यह आपकी आईडी की एक प्रति इस पते पर भेजकर अभी भी संभव है: hvdw@elegis.com

ध्यान दें: vitae.co . के लिए अपने लॉगिन के समान ईमेल पते का उपयोग करें

आपको हमारे वकील के दस्तावेज़ प्राप्त होंगे (विवरण देखें समाचार अपडेट २८ जुलाई); इसके लिए अपना स्पैम-बॉक्स भी चेक करें

कृपया, हमारी समूह कार्रवाई (कार्यों) के लिए 10 यूरो/यूएसडॉलर से वित्तीय योगदान भी करें।

वकील वैन डे वाल के साथ विशेष ज़ूम

वकील हंस वान डी वाल (एलिगिस लॉ फर्म से) विटे सोशल मीडिया प्लेटफॉर्म को फिर से खोलने के लिए कानूनी कदमों और न्यायिक प्रक्रियाओं से संबंधित मामलों की स्थिति की व्याख्या करेंगे।

Vitae के सदस्य के रूप में, आप अपनी पसंद की भाषा के आधार पर, निम्नलिखित ज़ूम मीटिंग में उनके स्पष्टीकरण 'लाइव' का अनुसरण कर सकते हैं:

अंग्रेजी में: सोमवार १३ सितंबर को दोपहर ३ बजे (सीईटी/ब्रुसेल्स समय);

जूम लिंक की घोषणा जूम मीटिंग से दो घंटे पहले आपकी पसंद की भाषा में की जाएगी।

वकील वैन डी वाल द्वारा ज़ूम वेबसाइट www.wearevitae.org पर उपलब्ध होगा (उन लोगों के लिए जो सीधे ज़ूम में भाग लेने में असमर्थ थे)।

Dear all,

A lot of members support our action to get the Vitae platform back online through legal means.

You have also responded positively to the call for voluntary contributions and donations.

We thank you very much, but we are not there yet. 

A legal process costs money, but it is the only way to get the platform vitae.co reopened as soon as possible. 

As the initiators of www.wearevitae.org, we have only one goal - and it's the same for every member of Vitae - and that is: to be back online and have our Vitae tokens at our disposal quickly.

That is why we – a small group of Belgian members, knowing the Belgian legal procedures and which lawyers could best represent this case -  immediately took the initiative, in name of the whole community, to consult a lawyer and start legal action against the Belgian authorities.

Trust

Via wearevitae.org, you can follow these actions closely. 

Because the response is very large, our lawyer has had a lot of preparatory work: every ID card or passport had to be checked. Lawyer Van de Wal has already started his action and is now working on the next steps, as described in 'the strategy' (see update of August 12).

Have faith, we have a very competent lawyer in this matter. 

Bank Accounts

Every member of Vitae has an interest in seeing the platform open soon.

This website represents all Vitae members from around the world, but is completely separate from management and from Vitae AG.

Why is this so?

Because our main concern is the reopening of the platform and access to our digital portfolios. Compare this to a bank that is the subject of an investigation: this cannot be a reason to deny account holders at that bank access to their bank accounts.

As members of Vitae, we have no evidence to suggest that the management or Vitae AG have acted wrongly. 

The Belgian Justice Department has not yet provided any factual explanation for taking vitae.co offline, other than to say that it was "a suspected large-scale scam" - of which we, as members of Vitae, have not noticed anything so far.

Distinction

Nevertheless, making a distinction between management, Vitae AG and members is important: because a legal investigation is underway that could drag on for some time, while we, the members of Vitae, have nothing to do with it and consequently demand the immediate reopening of the Vitae platform.  

We should close ranks and be united in supporting this legal action(s). Because we are all for the same goal.

ALL TOGETHER : not only those who share the lawyer's information with the members through this web site, but each individual member anywhere in the world.

In short, all those who continuously contribute to the success of this action(s) and motivate people to take up this challenge together!

Solidarity

It is, of course, painful that Vitae members, who, two months after their social media platform was shut down, are still unsure of when their Vitae tokens will be available again, are now being asked for a financial contribution.

But it is in the common interest of all of us! (see also: Vision).

Therefore, ask yourself the question: how much is the reopening of the Vitae platform worth to me?

10 Euro or USD, or more than that? Maybe I can even contribute a little more, for those who are currently struggling financially? 

Only if everyone who has registered for this action(s) with Master Van de Wal makes a contribution of at least 10 euro or USD (and more) will we succeed in making this lawsuit financially viable. 

So once again we appeal to your solidarity, but also to that of non-members and persons who sympathize with the vision and mission of Vitae. 

All details for a transfer to our bank account can be found in the 'Donations' section of this website

After the trial, the accounts will be made public and any remaining funds will be transferred in full to charities connected with Vitae.

We will continue until our goal is reached and count massively on your - also financial - support.

The initiators of wearevitae.org

Dear all,

I am pleased to update you on the latest developments. Because the case is quite time consuming, I allow myself to summarize in bullet points:

- I have had an overwhelming amount of confirmations to start the legal action(s) and we are currently approaching 20.000 participants. This large number may contribute to our actions being taken seriously.

- Due to this large number, it takes a while to finalize the list of plaintiffs, because – due to my Code of Ethics – my firm has to check each passport/ID individually to verify whether “real” persons are joining the action.

- Nevertheless I will already write to the investigating judge on Friday (August 13th) with the list updated until then, which will be between 12.000 and 15.000, announcing that the list is still being finalized and the final number will be more.

- Next week I will try to contact the investigating judge personally as well.

- In the course of next week (around August 18th), the formal notice will be sent to the Belgian State.

- A press release will follow after the actions have been taken.

 I understand the sensitivity of the case and the impatience which might take the upper hand, but I consider it mandatory that we stick to the strategy and take every step at the right time. It would be a mistake to change the order of events/actions, since this will give the wrong impression we are trying to obtain our rights via the media, whereas the only forum to get your rights acknowledged is the court / the judge.

 Kind regards,

Hans Van de Wal

Advocaat | Avocat | Attorney at law

प्रिय वीटा सदस्यों,

जिन सदस्यों ने अभी तक वेबसाइट के माध्यम से पंजीकरण नहीं कराया है, लेकिन जो अभी भी वकील वैन डे वाल की कानूनी कार्रवाई में भाग लेना चाहते हैं, उन्हें जल्द से जल्द:

1) बटन के माध्यम से पहले पंजीकरण करने के लिए 'यहां रजिस्टर करें (उसी ईमेल पते का उपयोग करें जिसके साथ वे वीटा प्लेटफॉर्म पर पंजीकृत हैं)';

2) तब वे कानूनी फर्म एलिगिस से 'रणनीति' प्राप्त करेंगे;

3) 'रणनीति' (एक सख्त गोपनीय दस्तावेज) प्राप्त करने के बाद, वे मास्टर वैन डे वाल को एक ईमेल के साथ कानूनी कार्रवाई में अपनी भागीदारी की पुष्टि कर सकते हैं, जिसमें - बहुत महत्वपूर्ण - उनके पहचान पत्र का स्कैन शामिल है।

Dear Vitae Community

As you are all aware we are now heading into the next and delicate stage of the legal proceedings. Hopefully you are all in touch with the Updates on the wearevitae.org website, as it is here, and only here, where you will get all the correct information and Updates.

As mentioned on the website, all works carried out by the core Vitae Team have been done Voluntarily in the spirit of Vitae. 

It is now time to reflect on the great progress that has been made by many Vitae Leaders and friends both inside and outside the Vitae Community. With this in mind, we kindly request that everybody who can manage it, makes a Donation to assist with the upcoming Lawyer Fees, so that Mr Van de Wal can take our fight to the Judge and get the ruling overturned, so that we can once again access our Wallets and our Tokens on the SMP.

Also, just to add, and this is VERY important. Some members have entered INCORRECT email addresses on the wearevitae.org site, which has resulted in them not receiving a ‘next steps’ email from the lawyer. 

IF you feel that this is the case, please email the lawyer directly with a copy of your ID to hvdw@elegis.com.

It is vitally important that you do this by midnight (CET) on Tuesday 10th August at the very latest, so as to be considered a plaintiff in the legal action.

Please Note, that it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that copies of your ID have been sent in time, as wearevitae.org can NOT be held responsible if this has not been done correctly or on time. 

We ARE VITAE, and it’s not over until WE WIN !

प्रिय साथियो,

वकील हंस वान डी वाल ने उन सभी को भेजना शुरू कर दिया है जिन्होंने पहले से ही एक सख्त व्यक्तिगत दस्तावेज पंजीकृत किया है (जो तीसरे पक्ष को वितरित नहीं किया जा सकता है)।

यदि आप कानूनी कार्रवाई में भाग लेना चाहते हैं तो निर्देशों का पालन करें।

हमारी वेबसाइट पर नया खंड 'द विजन' भी पढ़ें।

यह देखने के लिए अपना स्पैम बॉक्स भी चेक करें कि कहीं ईमेल तो नहीं गया।

ऐनी-लुईस, एरिक, इंगर, जान, लार्स, करिन, फिलिप, प्रशांत, स्टिजन, थियो, टोनी

Please be patient...

Your participation is so overwhelming that we have to ask you to be more patient, so that the registrations and the promised documents can be processed by the lawyer Hans Van de Wal regarding legal action.

And we also need time for the texts to be officially translated.

Everything will speed up in the next few days.

We thank you for your understanding.

Dear all,

Of course, it is our personal belief that it is beneficial for as many members as possible to participate in this judicial action.

This will reduce costs and therefore allow people with less resources to gain access, but we also believe in “the power of numbers”.

As a Vitae member, if you are convinced of this matter, we think it is appropriate to contact members you personally sponsored and direct them to the wearevitae.org website.

Since many members have left the various groups, it is important that at least everyone can access the information, so that they also have the opportunity to make an informed decision about participating in the action.

CLARIFICATION to our letter approved by the lawyer on 22 July, launch date of this website.

Due to the recent developments which have led to the VITAE Social Media Platform being taken offline, it is clear that action needs to be taken to address this situation. In order to do this in a proper and professional manner, Hans Van de Wal, an Attorney at Law from the Belgian law firm Elegis, has been contacted. Mr Van de Wal has now reviewed the case, and is ready to take the appropriate legal action to defend the rights of the VITAE Members. 

The wearevitae.org website has been formed by a small core of VITAE members with the sole aim of providing the VITAE Community with the correct information and guidance, as we navigate our way through this legal process.

In order to proceed, it is necessary that certain criteria are met. Due to the nature of this case, it is essential that all on going matters are held strictly  confidental, and information is only given to the persons concerned.

To do this effectively, it is necessary that members provide personal information in the form of an official ID documentation, so that you can be identified as a bonafide VITAE Member and is therefore entitled to receive this information. 

A bonafide VITAE member being a person who is or who has been an Upgraded Member of VITAE. This process is not for people who have merely made a profile. This information will only be used to provide you with the steps about the legal processes of any proposed action. You have no financial obligation whatsoever, nor any obligation to participate in this process. 

To receive further information please click on the Subscribe button below if not registered yet.

Only after receipt of the above documentation you will be entitled to receive further information about the legal process. You will then be given the opportunity to opt in.  

At this point you will be asked to sign a mandate by Mr Van de Wal.  

A mandate is a document which gives the lawyer official permission to act on your behalf. Due to the sensitive nature of this legal action, there will probably be a confidentiality clause included in this mandate, which states that not only are you giving permission for Mr Van de Wal to act on your behalf, but that it is on the understanding that matters pertaining directly to the case, may be held in confidence until Mr Van de Wal feels that it is appropriate to disclose these details. 

Details of each step will be communicated to you before any legal action is taken. 

Upon receipt of the information about the upcoming legal actions, you will have the opportunity to opt in and participate. 

Without your explicit consent, you will not be added to the list of plaintiffs and your contact details will be deleted. 

Dear all,

After the recent developments in relation to VITAE and the worrying messages that have been published by the media, we still believe in VITAE and the people behind it.

Unlike what is written, we have never been betrayed, never lost any money, nor have been defrauded or been stolen from. 

If we have suffered damages, it’s because our access to our e-wallets has been blocked due to the platform being actually frozen by the Belgian authorities.

Therefore it seems as if the ones causing the damages aren’t the people behind Vitae AG, but on the contrary the authorities pretending to “save” us. 

In order to have this theory investigated and tested from a legal perspective, we have contacted Hans Van de Wal, an attorney at law at Elegis, a Belgian law firm, who has meanwhile studied the file and is ready to take the appropriate legal actions on behalf of those who want to join. 

With this message we would like to call onto all of you to subscribe here if you are interested in receiving more information from this law firm within the next few days. 

You will be directed to a page where you will fill out your personal details, which will only be used to provide you the information about the suggested legal action. 

You have no financial obligation whatsoever, nor an obligation to participate in the legal actions. 

Upon receipt of the information about the upcoming legal actions, you will have the opportunity to opt in and participate. 

Without your explicit consent, you will not be added to the list of plaintiffs and your contact details will be deleted. 

Yours sincerely,

Anne-Louise, Erik, Inger, Jan, Lars, Karin, Philippe, Prashant, Stijn, Theo, Tony.