This is stated in a new plan for combating corruption, the outgoing ministers of Weel of Justice and Security and Uitermark van The Interior.
Professor of Integrity Rob van Eijbergen warned on Friday in De Telegraaf in an interview of a lack of capacity in combating corruption. The 118 studies of the National Criminal Investigation in three years would not be representation of the total size of corruption. There would also be too few ‘antennas’ within investigation organizations and local authorities to recognize and stop corruption.
Corruption investigated is a tip of iceberg
The new corruption approach of the ministers fits seamlessly with the worries of the professor. The cabinet is now going to invest an annual three million euros in the National Criminal Investigation Department, the FIOD, the Public Prosecution Service and the Judiciary. That is for extra capacity and investments for, for example, data -driven investigation. In total, the cabinet takes five million extra a year for tackling bribery and leaking information.
In the past year there was serious corruption cases. For example, two officials from the municipality of Amsterdam passed information to criminals, who could therefore meet opponents with shootings and bomb attacks. The National Criminal Investigation Department also picked up a customs officer on those flight details of persons playing on the underworld.
Criminals have help from within NODG
Minister Van Weel: ,, It is often criminals to do to do information, data, access to a market, or a possibility to launch money white. They need help from the inside. So they recruit employees and that is not gentle. ” Minister Uitermark: “For trust in our government it is of the utmost importance to protect our officials and administrators against the influence of criminals.”
A National Risk Assessment corruption (NRA corruption) is now being carried out by the Scientific Research and Documentation Center (WODC), in which the largest corruption risks for the Netherlands are mapped. The results of the first NRA are expected at the beginning of 2026.
Stricter authorization ICT systems
Report warns against infiltration underworld in civil service: ‘Corrumping turns out to be earnings model for crime’
The resilience of the central government against undermining has since started. The program wants to limit corruption risks as much as possible by, for example, using strictly authorization management of IT systems. The issue process of travel and identity documents is currently already improved by the Interior and the National Service for Identity Data (RVIG).
The cabinet also wants to tackle ‘job hopping’. According to the ministers, it happens too often that non-integer or even corrupt dismissed officials still work at a neighboring congregation or another government organization. References in application procedures are better checked, there will be a uniform VOG policy and a tightened screening policy.