Dutch musician Afrojack cleared in tax fraud investigation
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) dropped the criminal investigation into tax fraud against Nick van de Wall, better known as DJ Afrojack. Investigators could not find sufficient evidence to prove the allegations, the OM and the DJ’s lawyer confirmed to Financieele Dagblad.
In 2018, the OM registered Afrojack as a suspect in a tax fraud investigation against a tax advisor from Amsterdam. The tax advisor allegedly set up fraudulent tax-friendly constructions in tax havens Guernsey and Cyprus for his clients. Now that the OM has dropped the case, the DJ is no longer suspected of false tax returns.
In addition to the criminal investigation against him, Afrojack also faced additional tax assessments of over 2 million euros. Van de Wall reached a settlement with the authorities on the additional assessments, his lawyer, Niels van der Laan of De Roos & Pen, told the newspaper. He would give no details, only saying that Van de Wall fully cooperated with the investigation.
According to the lawyer, Van der Wall “relied 100 percent” on his advisors for handling his tax affairs. Those advisers included the suspected tax adviser, who is considered “the absolute expert in the field of tax advice to international artists.” Afrojack only focused on his career. “Moreover, his declarations were never presented to him for signature and were drawn up and submitted completely by his advisers without his involvement,” Van der Laan told FD.
A spokesperson for the OM told FD that the investigation into tax adviser Frank B. is in its final stages, so the prosecutor should soon decide whether or not to prosecute him. The OM is also investigating DJ duo W&W - Willem van Angegem junior and Ward van der Harst - for tax fraud. They are also B.’s clients, and the investigation against them is still ongoing, the OM said.
