The MH17 disaster has cost the Dutch state at least 166 million euros until 2022. That reports the Court of Audit Thursday. The calculation was made at the request of the cabinet, so that the Netherlands can try to recover the costs from Russia. All 298 people on board MH17 were killed when the plane was shot down over Ukraine in 2014. There were 196 Dutch people on board.
A case is currently pending at the UN Civil Aviation Organization over the liability of the Russian government, which supplied the Buk missile to Ukrainian separatists who downed the plane. By determining the amount, the Netherlands can attempt to recover the costs from Russia. The 166 million euros that has now been determined will be updated annually.
The largest cost item was the investigation into the perpetrators, which ran until 2022 and cost 53 million euros. The Court of Audit has processed the costs of 83 government agencies, including ten ministries, two provinces and 59 municipalities. This included labor costs, but the cleaning and storage of children’s cuddly toys, for example, also cost around 365 euros, the report states.
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