Former NS boss acquitted of fraud

Timo Huges, former CEO of Dutch rail company NS, was acquitted of fraud in the tender process for public transport in Limburg by the court in Den Bosch on Thursday. Five other suspects of fraud in this case were also acquitted, NU.nl reports.

The Public Prosecutor demanded a year in prison against Huges. He was accused of bribery, forgery and leaking confidential information. Huges always maintained that he was innocent, did not know about any fraud and did not interfere with the tender.

This case dates back to 2015. During the tendering process for public transit in Limburg, NS appointed a former CEO of competitor Veolia at NS subsidiary Abellio. Thanks to information this CEO passed on, other NS subsidiary QBuzz was able to win the tender. The Dutch authority for consumers and markets ACM already fined NS 41 million euros for abusing its market position in this tendering process.