Public Works employee suspected of large-scale fraud

Dutch public works department Rijkswaterstaat suspended an employee on suspicion of large-scale fraud. According to Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure and Water Management, the employee is suspected of submitting false invoices since 2014, involving an amount of at least 1.7 million euros, NOS reports.

Rijkswaterstaat reported the incident to the police, who launched an investigation. The police suspect that others may also be involved in the fraud. The home of the employee was searched. So far no arrests were made.

Van Nieuwenhuizen told the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, that Rijkswaterstaat also launched its own investigation. "In the case of serious suspicions such as these, no stone must be left unturned."

There will also be a third, external, investigation into how fraud during the "purchasing and payment process" can be prevented in the future. This investigation must also show whether there have been similar incidents in the past.