The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has blocked the enormous inheritance of Chris Grinwis from Halsteren. The daughter of murder suspect Yvon K. would inherit the money, but the Public Prosecution Service believes that the money was obtained from a crime. But Yvon was never convicted because she died just before the verdict. Can the Justice Department then label the inheritance as criminal money? Two criminal lawyers answer.
The Public Prosecution Service still suspects that the former supermarket owner was poisoned by Yvon K. She took her own life just before the verdict. The court therefore declared the case inadmissible. This means that there will be no ruling on whether or not Yvon was guilty of the poisoning.
The multimillion-dollar inheritance therefore goes to Yvon’s daughter, but the Justice Department is trying to stop that. The inheritance is seen by the Public Prosecution Service as money obtained from a crime.
But can you say that if Yvon was never found guilty? Not according to criminal lawyer Ester Vroegh. She represents the daughter of Yvon K. “Justice is trying to get the question of guilt answered again in this way,” she says.
“Justice is a sore loser in this story.”
It is more common for the Public Prosecution Service to seize the inheritance of a convicted criminal. That inheritance is called criminal money, because the person who owned the money has actually been convicted. But that is different in the case of Yvon K.. She has not been convicted.
According to Vroegh, the Public Prosecution Service is threatening to prosecute Yvon’s daughter for money laundering. “Because if she accepts the inheritance, according to the Justice Department, she would have criminal money.”
The question remains whether there is a chance that the Public Prosecution Service will be right. “Then they would have to repeat Yvon K.’s case. While there is already a judgment stating that the case has been declared inadmissible.” A special state of affairs, says Vroegh. “I can’t explain it any other way than that Justice is a very sore loser in this story.”
“That goes against all your sense of justice, doesn’t it?”
Retired criminal lawyer Pieter van der Kruijs thinks that the Ministry of Justice certainly has a chance in court. “I think they will go a long way. I estimate their chances at 75 percent,” he says.
“Everyone feels that Yvon K. did not receive that money through her first and second husband. It would be wrong if the daughter were to receive that money,” he believes. “The fact that Yvon K. made it impossible to be convicted does not mean that the money is legitimate. Doesn’t that go against all your sense of justice?”
The fact that Yvon K. was found not guilty makes less difference, according to Van der Kruijs. According to him, the inheritance can be labeled as a form of unjust enrichment. This is the case when someone enriches himself at the expense of someone else, without that person being entitled to it.
“The Public Prosecution Service can ask the judge if they can pay out the money to the state. I think that is the only way they can do it. I cannot imagine that a decision is made that goes against any sense of justice,” says Van der Kruis.
You can talk about suicide 24/7 at the help and prevention line via 0900-0113, or online via 113.nl.
MORE NEWS ABOUT YVON K.:
The criminal case was stopped when suspect Yvon died
Jeannette fought with Yvon K for years after her divorce.
Waiting for privacy settings…