A mysterious expert in the criminal environment had an appointment with the top of BNNVARA in 2020 to warn them about Khalid Kasem. “Are you sure you want it?”
Khalid Kasem has been hit hard: he appears to have operated quite shady during his time as a lawyer and has now lost his job as a TV presenter as a result. But there is even more to come: the AD is working on a second article and it would also include the name of top criminal Ridouan Taghi. So the cesspool opens much wider…
Khalide & Ridouan
According to communications expert Lars Duursma, it is an open secret what is in that second article. He hints that it is about the relationship between Khalid and Ridouan, who were in class together as children. One thing is certain: the content is apparently so explosive that Khalid’s ex-colleague Royce de Vries is trying to stop publication.
Lars, who is on top of this case, talks in the podcast The Communicados that BNNVARA already knew that there was shit going on. Even before Khalid started as the presenter of Khalid & Sophie. “I think they will be scratching their heads at BNNVARA.”
Mysterious person
Why? Lars: “Look, they can now certainly publicly pretend that they are completely surprised by the developments, but from someone who is close to the fire, I understand that BNNVARA in 2020 – and that is apart from all media publications at the time in De Telegraaf and the AD – has been urgently warned by an expert in the crime environment.”
The BNNVARA top has had an appointment with this source, Lars knows. “He then had an appointment with the top of the broadcaster and the gist was: this is what we all know, are you sure you want him as a presenter? But yes, BNNVARA wanted him.”
Apparently the alarm bells at BNNVARA only ring for the lunch break.
‘It scares me’
Co-host Victor Vlam finds it very striking. “I find that remarkable. That actually scares me, so someone who knows a lot about crime in the Netherlands requested a meeting with the top management and they said: ‘I know all this about Khalid, know what you are getting into.’”
Lars: “Yes. I also understand that as a broadcaster you want to have compelling reasons not to give someone a chance if you really believe in him, so I also understand that it is a difficult dilemma. But one of the few parties that has not yet started an investigation is BNNVARA itself. If they do, I would certainly include this conversation in that investigation.”
Three Musketeers
It raises the question whether this mysterious person is also behind the pseudonym The Three Musketeers. This person or persons leaked the audio recordings on which AD’s Khalid Kasem revelations are based. It is still a big question who exactly has an interest in getting in Khalid’s way.
One thing now seems almost certain: Khalid’s career as a TV presenter is over. From prime time to crime time…