Sywert van Lienden, Camille van Gestel and Bernd Damme are in the Rotterdam District Court Tuesday in a criminal case. They are prosecuted for scams, embezzlement, forgery and money laundering.
The three sold in the Coronacrisis, spring 2020, for more than 100 million euros to Chinese mouth caps to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. Not with the idealistic Stichting auxiliary troops Alliance, the Ministry turned out to be doing business, but with the hastily established relief Goods Alliance.
Because although Van Lienden in public explained the protective equipment ‘not to’ deliver ‘for’ our care heroes’, the three of them actually raised a net profit of 20.7 million euros, of which 9.2 million for Van Lienden.
Profit back to the foundation
Earlier this year, the civil court stipulated that that profit should go back to the foundation, of which the employees actually thought they were committed to care workers. The foundation wants to spend that money on a good cause. The state, which also wanted the win, fished behind the net.
Sywert van Lienden and business partners have to pay 20 million to Stichting Return after Mouth Capier Deal
Care ministers, embarrassed after revelations about Van Lienden’s actual intentions, initially stated that it did not matter what Van Lienden had said to talk show tables about whether or not to make a profit; It was possible to do 40 million mouth caps at a market price – and it had delivered the three.
Later, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport then declared that it did not know that so much profit would be made. Incidentally, only a small part of the 40 million mouth caps were actually used. The rest remained in the storage as part of an ‘iron stock’ and was later rejected.
Appeal
In this civil case, the Court of Appeal will later have an appeal, registered by the State, in which on Tuesday afternoon there is also an introductory session.
In Rotterdam, the court will first discuss the investigation by the examining magistrate on Tuesday and the proof that the Public Prosecution Service has collected. The key question is to what extent civil servants of VWS want to do with a commercial company. If that is the case, then it is not obvious that Van Lienden and Kompanen have scammed the ministry.
So groove ‘screaming rich’ Sywert van Lienden’s own grave: repaying mouth caps millions may be starting legal misery
According to the national lawyer, it was clear that the three had knowingly and knowingly sent into the forest. He quoted from chats that the men sent to each other and their partners. “Just seriously: what we now occasionally discuss is really adjacent to preconceived fraud.” After signing the agreement followed: “Now really round! Never again money worries.”
The criminal case seems to be just as long -lived procedure as the process between the three, the foundation and the state. The criminal file now has 17,000 pages and an end to the case is by no means in sight.
The penalties that are on scams, embezzlement and money laundering can rise to prison sentences of six years.
Follow the lawsuit live below:
There is now a skirmish between the public prosecutor, the public prosecutor and Bernd Damme, who would have taken a photo of the court during a mini-suspension, which is not allowed. There is grumbling back and forth. The rise is concluded with a comment from Van Liendens Advocaat: “Shall we focus differently on the case?”
It may of course be that the statements of the ministers at the time were mainly aimed at keeping the scandal as small as possible. Can.
Camille van Gestel also takes the word: “It is strange that ministers and senior officials all explain ‘we are not scammed’, and the Public Prosecution Service says: ‘you are scammed’.
Sywert van Lienden gets the floor. “When did I start scorching according to the Public Prosecution Service? When am I from the path from good intentions to bad intentions? If the OM can explain to me, then I also know what I explain. Otherwise I have to start with the Big Bang.” The judge sees something in the story of Van Lienden.
Bernd Damme’s lawyer disputes that there is a causal relationship at all (cause-effects) in the laminated scams. The ministers of then, Hugo de Jonge, Martin van Rijn and later Tamara van Ark, said it was irrelevant that a profit was made; Because VWS received much needed mouth caps according to the rules. So why scam? The judge finds this ‘argument’ ‘nicely said’.
The judge wants a ‘opener debate’ about what the judiciary ‘on earth is doing’. “We tend to go past the core and that is bothering me for 27 years. This case is” almost falling out of heaven to make this point. ” In other words: he wants to talk more about the charged than legally having hair gaps about how correction prosecution takes place. The latter does indeed seem on the basis of this criminal case, where the defense constantly demands new investigations before a substantive treatment can take place
Important for the coming session (again an introductory directing session, the court wants to know what evidence construction the OM uses. The scam of the ministry started from day 1 because Van Lienden said that he did it ‘not to’ (with which politics was more willing to go into the sea), or happened later. The OM does not want something about his proof construction
Van Lienden has shared ‘very personal things’ with the court, sitting at a short distance from the judge, this there the court will have ‘short lines’ with the suspect.
It takes. Apparently it is quite a story that Sywert van Lienden wants to outline his personal circumstances against the court. We are still far removed from a substantive treatment of this criminal case.
Now press and disadvantaged parties have to leave the room again so that Van people can outline his personal sphere of life.
In this way the question is whether this directing session in the criminal case is ready on time. This afternoon at 2 pm there is also a civilian seat in the mouth cap store in the Amsterdam Court of Appeal. That is the 20 million profit that Van Lienden, Damme and Van Gestel made with the deal. That money must go to the auxiliary troops, the judge determined, but the state wants money to have (back).
The Public Prosecution Service and Court are agree with Van Lienden’s request to explain his personal circumstances behind closed doors. Now the injured parties can also say something about that.
Van Lienden probably wants to tell how poor he is, because there is a seizure on all his assets, but he does not want the whole country to know. The court agrees: the press must leave if Van Lienden gets the floor. So much
Van Lienden wants to explain what his personal situation is currently and what the slowness of the process has an influence on that. Van Lienden does not want to do that explanation in public, but behind closed doors. If it has to be public, then he doesn’t. Earlier, the maligned entrepreneur said that he must live from 15 euros a week.
Furthermore, other injured parties are present, such as Coolblue and the Stichting Auxiliary Troops Alliance, who voluntarily participated in the operation to bring the mouth caps to the Netherlands, ignorant of the fact that Van Gestel and Damme filled their pockets with it.