Belgium's federal prosecutor's office has confirmed that the Ripoll imam, Abdelbaki Es Satty, suspected of being the leader of the terrorist cell behind the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, had visited Belgium, but that they had no file on him.
The office's spokesperson, Thierry Werts, confirmed that Spanish authorities have asked the office for information about the Ripoll imam: "I'm able to confirm that checks have been carried out at the behest of the Spanish authorities," he said.
Werts said that the Ripoll imam had been to Belgium and was unknown by their prosecutor's office, without giving any further details.
He looked for work in Vilvorde
The mayor of Vilvorde, on the outskirts of Brussels, said this Sunday that Es Satty had travelled to the town between January and March 2016, looking for work.
The Belgian minister for Asylum and Migration, Theo Francken, also gave a statement this Sunday, on his Twitter account. He signalled that the imam wasn't known, at least under the name Es Satty, by the country's immigration service.