Belgian Tanger Markt stores closed due to illegal employment

All six Belgian branches of the Dutch ethnic supermarket chain Tanger Markt have been sealed off: following a large-scale inspection, illegal employment was discovered in the stores.

Stores remain closed

The three Brussels and three Antwerp branches of the halal chain Tanger Markt will remain closed for the time being, after the police and social inspectorate carried out inspections on Tuesday evening. “A total of sixteen people were found to be working illegally in all branches combined. Four others fled before they could be checked,” spokesperson Valentina Marocchi of the Brussels labor auditor’s office told Gazet Van Antwerpen. The police also seized 16,000 euros in cash, the origin of which could not be proven.

Tanger was founded by the Barghaoul family. The company started in the 1980s as a chicken wholesaler, later adding a butcher’s shop, and in 2010 it opened its first halal supermarket in Amsterdam. In Belgium, the chain opened its first branch in Antwerp in January 2014. The retailer has eight branches in the Netherlands and five in France.