Hague aldermen resign amidst bribery allegations

Richard de Mos and Rachid Guernaoui officially handed in their resignation as aldermen in The Hague. The two politicians from Groep de Mos/Hart voor den Haag are suspected of accepting bribes for issuing permits. Despite his resignation, De Mos will not change anything about his party financing and he called on entrepreneurs to keep donating to Groep de Mos, AD reports.

According to De Mos, his local party cannot survive without donations, because he does not receive national subsidies. "Many parties get millions from the government, we don't. So I call on the entrepreneurs: keep donating", he said after submitting his resignation at The Hague city hall, according to the newspaper.

In the run-up to the 2018 elections, Groep de Mos received around 90 thousand euros in donations from citizens and companies. One of the party donors is Atilla A., another suspect in the corruption investigation around De Mos and Geurnaoui. His venue received two night-trading permits from the municipality of The Hague after the election. The Public Prosecutor thinks he "purchased" these permits.

De Mos will replace Damien Zeller in the city council of The Hague on November 7th. "If you fall, you have to get up again", De Mos said. "I got that from home. With blood, sweat and tears I reached the aldermen of The Hague. And I will fight back with blood, sweat and tears. Groep de Mos will be by far the largest party in 2022. We're going for 23 seats, a majority in the city council."

The corruption allegations against the two aldermen were partly responsible for the Den Haag city council coalition collapsing, and mayor Pauline Krikke resigning.