Horse meat fraudster ordered to repay Netherlands €2.6 million

Jan F. has to pay 2.6 million to the Netherlands state. That is the amount the court in Breda calculated he earned from selling horse meet as beef, AD reports.

Between 2006 and 2009 F. ordered horse meat from Argentina. He took it in Breda, where he butchered it and sold it as halal slaughtered beef through his own company Draap. Incidentally Draap is the Dutch word for horse - paard - spelled backwards. His main customers were in France.

In 2013 F. was given a 50 thousand euro fine and a suspended prison sentence. At the time it was unclear how much he made with his scam. In court on Thursday, however, the judge ruled on a confiscation order, deciding that the scam made him 2.6 million euros. He now has to repay that money to the state.

Last month the Public Prosecutor also demanded 1.2 million euros from other horse meat fraudster Willy Selten. He sold horse meat as beef between 2011 and 2012.