Good morning!
In the week in which half of the Netherlands is dominated by the NATO summit that takes place in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday, we follow the economic news. That doesn’t end this morning, that’s why we start with A preview of a large lawsuit that will start in terms of content today. It is about the criminal case against ex-Jumbo CEO Frits van Eerd, among others. He is on trial for suspicion of money laundering, bribery and forgery.
There was a lot of fuss in the autumn of 2022 when the FIOD turned out to have fallen in at the then Jumbo CEO Frits van Eerd. In a search, Van Eerd found in a fridge in the workshop in a refrigerator, among other things, cash in cash, and at home, also seized in various places for almost two tons of cash.
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After two years, trial against ex-Jumbo CEO Frits van Eerd starts
One of the reasons that the judiciary is thinking of money laundering is because of the large amount of 500 euro notes at Van Eerd and the separate places where he kept them. In addition, the former CEO is said to have accepted money and cross bikes from Theo Eggens in exchange for sponsorship payments by Jumbo, for Motcrossteams from Eggens, among others. That money was actually used for criminal activities and Van Eerd would have received part of it privately for his services. Eggens also owned a company that supplied cars to serious criminals.
The former CEO claimed to detectives from the FIOD that the money comes from the proceeds of his cars and engines in which he acted. He did this in addition to his top who of one of the largest supermarket chains in the Netherlands. Having large quantities of cash in the house would arise from the fear of being attacked, it wrote FD that the interrogations. Van Eerd had to leave Jumbo as a result of the raids and suspicions.
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How did Jumbo CEO Frits van Eerd end up in the world of shady car dealer Theo Eggens?
The handling of the case against, among others, Van Eerd takes place on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at the court in Groningen. Eggens is also on trial. It will be the first time that the fallen ex-Jumbo boss will publicly answer for his actions. Van Eerd was absent with an earlier directing session last year.
About the use of the full names of these two suspects. The name of Frits van Eerd has been written in full from the first moment because of his great fame. For Theo Eggens it applies that his name appears in a number of his companies and that he has spoken in two books about his conviction for money laundering in 2008. He has registered Cassation against a second conviction for money laundering.
Price of owner -occupied homes rose again
Of course there is more news this morning. A brief overview:
- The price of owner -occupied homes rose again in May, Statistics agency CBS and the Land Registry report. On average, a buyer paid 471,875 euros for a home last month. That is an increase of 9.7 percent compared to a year ago. According to the CBS, house prices are now 11.7 percent higher than the peak in July 2022. Then the prices fell, to increase again from June 2023. In total, 19,614 homes were sold in May; 11.5 percent more than in May 2024.
- We have to wait and see how the markets react to the US attacks on Iran this weekend. The most important thing is perhaps the oil price. The value of a barrel of American oil immediately went up 1.1 percent on Monday morning but $ 74.65, while a barrel of brent oil costs 1.2 percent more ($ 77.90). The oil price was already on the rise in recent weeks due to the attacks of Israel on Iran. The latter country has since threatened to close the Strait van Hormuz, an important transport route for the transport of oil. In Asia, the Nikkei index is 0.2 percent lower, the hanging index in Hong Kong lost 0.1 percent.
- The increase in European defense expenditure can also lead to the growth of the economyreports Rabobank on Monday morning. Provided that investments are made in the right way, the bank economists say. Investments should not only lead to price increases of defense equipment and profit increases for companies. Rabobank argues for performance agreements. The method of financing is also important: the bank argues for increasing the national debt, because extra expenses within the current budget lead to the short of spending in other areas.
