---
category: Belgium Scandals
summary: Armand Van Ghysegham was a book publisher operating under the name Aba-Vangh
  and the owner of two esoteric bookstores in Brussels, Belgium.
tags:
- Person
- Belgium
---

Armand Van Ghysegham was a book publisher operating under the name Aba-Vangh and the owner of two esoteric bookstores in [Brussels, Belgium](/places/brussels/). Ghysegham appeared to have been the primary focus of the investigation into the [Abrasax Institute](/organizations/abrasax-institute/) rather than the institute itself. Ghysegham seemingly spent much of his time in Thailand. Police went to search one of his bookstores during the [Abrasax Institute](/organizations/abrasax-institute/) raids in December 1996 but found the property vacant with a "for rent" sign. Ghysegham's publishing company Aba-Vangh had declared bankruptcy in 1995, the same year [John Stamford](/people/john-stamford/) faced trial in Belgium.[^1]

The [X-Dossier](/events/x-dossier/) contains summary interviews with three of Ghysegham's former employees conducted between 21 December 1996 and 14 January 1997. All three said Ghysegham was a pedophile who frequently visited Thailand for this purpose, and one stated he had been involved in child trafficking. All three said he participated in black mass rituals held at the [Abrasax Institute](/organizations/abrasax-institute/). Two mentioned Ghysegham had a wealthy benefactor named Dessy who was his mistress, identified as [Forges de Clabecq](/organizations/forges-de-clabecq/), a member of a wealthy industrialist family who owned a controlling interest in [Forges de Clabecq](/organizations/forges-de-clabecq/).[^1]

### Connection to John Stamford

Shortly after the interviews with Ghysegham's employees, a note dated 16 January 1997 appeared in the [X-Dossier](/events/x-dossier/) linking [John Stamford](/people/john-stamford/) to Ghysegham. The note from PJ Turnhout stated that an anonymous witness said the Stamford file was linked to Dutroux-Nihoul, describing the Stamford dossier as worldwide dissemination of the pedophile idea with trafficking in organs of foreign children on the sidelines. The witness handed over a copy of a VLAN advertisement for Aba-Vangh, identifying Van Ghysegham as a friend of Stamford. The connection between Ghysegham and [John Stamford](/people/john-stamford/) established a direct link between the [Abrasax Institute](/organizations/abrasax-institute/) and the [Spartacus Network](/organizations/spartacus-network/).[^1]

[^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar.