Independent investigation readied for ex-Justice Sec.'s criminal payout

An independent commission will investigate the deal that former State Secretary Fred Teeven of Security and Justice made with drug criminal Cees H. during his time as a prosecutor in 2001. The ChristenUnie proposed this investigation last night and the Tweede Kamer (lower house of parliament) supported the proposal.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte wanted the initiative for the investigation to be with the new Minister of Security and Justice, but finally agreed to it in the debate on the resignation of Teeven and Minister Ivo Opstelten (Security and Justice) last night, the AD reports.

Teeven and Opstelten resigned on Monday because Opstelten had misinformed the Tweede Kamer on the issue. As Minister of Security and Justice, Opstelten was responsible for Teeven's actions during his time as prosecutor. One of the main points of contention is that Opstelten last summer claimed that no proof of the settlement could be found in his department. This proved to be false as a new searched found the information on Sunday.

It was also discovered that the deal was not for 1.25 million guilders, but involved an amount of 4.7 million guilders. This was claimed, but not proven, by a lawyer last year.  A recent investigation from television program Nieuwsuur discovered the actual terms of the payout, backed up by a receipt for the 15-year-old bank transfer found by the Telegraaf.

The opposition parties accused Rutte of not giving any direction and it irritated them that he once again did not give any clarification about the deal. This investigation must now clarify the details of the controversial "Teeven deal".