Court: Ex-MP not responsible for gay newspaper's debt

The court in Den Bosch ruled on Wednesday that 50Plus parliamentarian Henk Krol can not be held personally liable for repayment of the 206 thousand euros subsidy Stichting Vrienden van de Gay Krant received from the Ministry of Education.

Krol is the former chairman of the Foundation. The current board of the Foundation filed a lawsuit against Krol because the Ministry took back the grant because there was uncertainty about how it was spent. According to the board members, Krol made a mess of the administration and mainly used the subsidy to keep the Gay Krant running, and not for its intended use - setting up a safe digital meeting place for gay young men.

The court ruled that it can not be proven that the subsidy was taken back because the administration of the subsidized activities was not in order or because Krol used the money for a purpose other than what it was granted for, Volkskrant reports. It can also not be determined that Krol seriously failed and that "a serious personal reproach can be made", which is a requirement for accepting a director's personal liability. The court therefore ruled that there is no basis to determine that Krol is personally liable for the repayment of the subsidy.