In a publication by NRC, Van Strien is linked to fraud at his former employer Utrecht Holdings. There is a complaint against him. It is not yet clear whether Van Strien is guilty.
A person closely involved confirms to RTL News that a report has been filed against the PVV scout. The report is submitted to the Functional Public Prosecution Service. A spokesperson does not wish to provide further information.
Accusations
Van Strien said in today’s statement: ”In January this year I received a letter from Utrecht Holdings with a number of accusations against me. In my view, these are unfounded and I firmly distance myself from them. In my answer I explained, among other things, that I have complied with all laws and regulations. After this I heard nothing more. I understand through a press release that a report has been filed, but I do not know whether this has been done against me, nor what the status of this report is.”
PVV leader Geert Wilders also wants the formation talks to start tomorrow, as planned. “There is no prosecution, let alone conviction,” he says.
Suspicions
In March, Utrecht Holdings filed a complaint against two employees and a former employee for ‘suspicions of fraud and bribery in connection with share transactions of two former subsidiaries of Utrecht Holdings in the period 2006-2018’.
Documents
According to documents in the hands of NRC, it appears that the former employee is Van Strien, who was a director of Utrecht Holdings until 2009. That company is the Knowledge Transfer Office of Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht. It sets up companies to commercialize the university’s discoveries. The proceeds flow back to the university and the UMC Utrecht.
According to the newspaper, a report from research agency Deloitte states that Van Strien and his successor transferred the shares of those companies to an external company, Hereswint BV, in which their wives each owned 32 percent of the shares. The other shareholders were a former neighbor and friend of Van Strien, and his sister. It would have earned Hereswint about two million euros between 2006 and 2018.
No formation consequences
For the time being, the accusations do not appear to cause any delay in the formation. In addition to the PVV, the VVD also indicated in a response to the news that the talks can continue as usual. A spokesperson for GroenLinks-PvdA says that his party does not want to respond at this time. Other parties have also not yet indicated that they do not want to enter into discussions.
Geert Wilders first at scout
The formation discussions start tomorrow with a conversation between PVV leader Geert Wilders and scout Gom van Strien. They will kick off at 11.30 am in the Coffee Room in the part of the House of Representatives specially designed for the formation.
The conversations with the party leaders are divided over Monday and Tuesday. On Monday at 1:30 PM, the scout will have a conversation with Frans Timmermans of GroenLinks-PvdA. Dilan Yeşilgöz follows at 3 p.m. Rob Jetten is the last to appear on Monday at 7 p.m.
The discussions will continue on Tuesday with Pieter Omtzigt, among others. No detailed discussion agenda has yet been drawn up for that day.
2023-11-26 16:31:01
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