The Dutch state is taking Sywert van Lienden’s company Relief Goods Alliance (RGA) to court over the controversial face mask deal. This was reported by outgoing Minister Conny Helder for Long-term Care in an email on Thursday letter to the House of Representatives. Helder says he is following the advice of the State Attorney and “respecting the rights of the State.” [te willen] secure”.
Van Lienden was on the board of a foundation that arranged face masks for the government during the corona pandemic. The directors said they did this through their non-profit foundation Hulpstromen Alliance, but in reality it was carried out through a commercial company, Relief Goods Alliance, in which they themselves were shareholders. Van Lienden and his business partners earned approximately 30 million euros from it.
Van Lienden himself does not seem to fear the matter. On X, he writes that the summons may be made public. He points to another document from the ministry, which apparently shows that the main aim of the lawsuit is to prevent the case from becoming time-barred.
The civil proceedings are separate from the criminal investigation by the Public Prosecution Service into Van Lienden and his business partners.
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