Pels Rijcken fraud case larger than thought

The fraud case at Pels Rijcken has proven to be more extensive than initially thought. For 18 years, the civil-law notary involved transferred money to private accounts in the name of foundations he managed. The total amount involved was approximately €250,000. The firm has been placed under increased supervision. This is evident from a second investigation commissioned by Pels Rijcken.

Minister of Justice and Security Ferd Grapperhaus sent a letter to the House of Representatives on this matter on Friday morning. Grapperhaus wrote in the letter: "The results unfortunately confirm the extremely worrying picture that there has been extensive malpractice by a civil-law notary, which has developed over many years into a very large financial deficit in several cases handled by the civil-law notary in question."

Serious approach
The state has also been disadvantaged in five cases. The minister takes this very seriously. He therefore states that he will implement a serious approach to prevent recurrence. "It is absolutely clear, however, that a situation in which a person in such a position, partly based on the trust they enjoy, can commit such acts must be prevented in the future." He is awaiting the investigation by the Public Prosecution Service (OM) and the Financial Supervision Office (BFT).