Committee condemns deal between former Dutch prosecutor and drug lord

A deal between former Dutch chief prosecutor Fred Teeven and a drug lord has been slammed on Wednesday by a committee established to investigate the controversial settlement of 15 years ago.

The deal should not have been struck, the committee concluded.

"It was not fair and balanced for the state," committee chairman Marten Oosting said while presenting the report during a press conference in The Hague.

The committee strongly criticized the content of the deal, in which criminal Cees H. obtained 4.7 million guilders of his Luxemburg bank account and did not have to sit out part of his imprisonment, with the drug lord in return paying a fine of 750,000 guilders to the prosecutor.

According to the committee it was also not right to keep the tax administration outside the deal.

Following wrong and incomplete information to the parliament on the transaction Minister of Security and Justice Ivo Opstelten and State Secretary of Justice Teeven, who closed the deal as chief prosecutor in 2000, stepped down in March this year.

Settlements with criminals are not unusual, but this one was extraordinary. In 2000 Cees H., currently at large, was in jail and the prosecution tried to get his criminal money, which was difficult because it was hard to prove that the drug lord had obtained his millions in a criminal way. For this reason the prosecutor could do little with his money, although his bank accounts were seized. Following this situation the prosecutor reached the controversial settlement.

Until the day of his resignation Teeven has said that the deal was legally sound, and Prime Minister Mark Rutte had reiterated that shortly afterwards in parliament. However, according to the committee the deal for which the initial authorization was requested was different to the agreement eventually made.

The committee also slammed former minister Opstelten for giving too little guidance and giving wrong answers to questions on the deal. The parliament was informed incompletely and inaccurately by the Ministry of Security and Justice, the committee concluded.

The committee added that it is not likely that such a deal will be done in a similar way again. Nevertheless the committee recommended to tighten the rules on settlements with criminals. Thus, the decision making process needs to be tightened and the requirement of judicial approval should be considered.

Current Minister of Security and Justice Ard van der Steur, who succeeded Opstelten, will take over the recommendations in the report, he declared.

He regrets the outcome of the investigation.

"In offering his resignation my predecessor took his responsibility on the crucial point of giving information to the parliament," he stated.

The outcome of the investigation did not convince Teeven to step down directly as member of the House of Representatives on behalf of the VVD (Liberals).

"I read the report with interest and have respect for the work that the committee has done," Teeven reacted to Dutch broadcoaster NOS.

"The report covers events that took place over 15 to 20 years ago. The fight against serious crime has always been paramount for me. I served the public interest at that time and I continue to do that to this day." Endit