Mayor and almost entire council of Rotterdam: in-depth investigation needed into radicalization funds for cheese factory

Mayor Carola Schouten of Rotterdam wants an external and independent investigation into irregularities committed with municipal subsidies provided between 2014 and 2018 to combat radicalization and promote integration.

In a debate with the Rotterdam city council, Schouten said on Thursday that there should be “the most thorough possible” investigation, but “it should not take years.” The announcement of the research can count on almost full support in the Rotterdam council.

The reason for the investigation is the announcement from the Public Prosecution Service last month that a criminal order has been agreed with three men for fraud with subsidy money from Rotterdam. The debate in the municipal council followed NRC Earlier this month it was revealed that the three men who were paid by the municipality of Rotterdam to combat radicalization diverted these subsidies for years and invested in a cheese factory in Morocco. A Rotterdam radicalization official – the right-hand man of former mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb – privately provided a loan of around 10,000 euros for this project.

A deal

The subsidy fraud was to be dealt with in a public criminal case at the Rotterdam court last month, after a judicial investigation that lasted seven years. Three days before the hearing, the functional public prosecutor’s office announced that it had concluded a deal with the three suspects. In exchange for a guilty plea, they accepted community service orders of up to 140 hours and fines of up to 25,000 euros per person.

Due to this judicial settlement, the content of the case remained out of the public domain. The municipality of Rotterdam informed NRC last month that it had “not been informed about which organizations and subsidy flows the fraudulent actions took place.” In a letter sent to Mayor Schouten on Wednesday the council senthowever, it states that in March 2018 the Public Prosecution Service ‘provided information to the mayor (Aboutaleb) about three foundations and three people so that the mayor could assess whether measures are necessary with regard to subsidies granted by the municipality’.

Schouten writes that due to the “limited information” that the municipality received from the Public Prosecution Service, “we currently have no idea of ​​the extent of the fraud, the foundations where fraud has been established and what method was used.”

There is great dissatisfaction and misunderstanding within the municipal council and the municipal council about the mysterious actions of the Public Prosecution Service. A year ago, the Public Prosecution Service announced that “prosecution is appropriate to expose the seriousness of abuse of the foundations for their own financial gain.” Ten months later a deal was concluded.

Fraud suspicions

Simon Ceulemans, councilor of Leefbaar Rotterdam, said he had many questions about Aboutaleb’s actions. Did he properly inform the council about the fraud investigation at the time? His party, the largest in the council, already asked questions about the fraud suspicions years ago. The party did not receive support in the council at the time because they were accused of playing political games by making the mayor and top official, both of Moroccan descent, suspicious. D66 councilor Ingrid van Wifferen apologized on Thursday for the earlier criticism of Leefbaar Rotterdam in this case.

Because the judiciary does not provide information about the nature and extent of the detected fraud, the municipality does not know exactly how the provision of subsidies can be improved. “It is very unsatisfactory and frustrating that we do not receive answers to legitimate questions from the Public Prosecution Service,” said Schouten. According to the mayor, the Public Prosecution Service has “processed” a request from the municipality for more information. The municipality may also want to arrange a forensic investigation to determine how fraud occurred.

The civil servant in Rotterdam responsible for the preventive approach in which the training is subsidized and who lent money to a suspect is a former politician with Moroccan roots. This good acquaintance of Aboutaleb has been working for the Security Directorate since January 2015. Mayor Schouten writes to the council that “at this time he has no reason to doubt the integrity of this employee.” It is still being examined whether “further investigation” into him is not necessary.

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