Dutch State to fight for damages in €100 million dodgy face mask deal; Many MP's angered

The minister for long-term care and sport, Conny Helder, will ensure that the State reclaims damages suffered in its controversial face mask deal with Sywert van Lienden and his business partners. Still, anger due to her answers prompted many opposition politicians to walk out of the debate.

At Helder's request, the State Attorney will ensure that the case does not become time-barred, so that the State does not miss out on recovering the damage suffered, Helder said during the parliamentary debate about the deal between the Ministry of Health and Van Lienden. The deal was worth 100 million euros. Of this, about 30 million euros went to Van Lienden and his two business partners as profit.

The minister does not yet want to initiate legal proceedings, but wants to first wait for the Public Prosecution Service's criminal investigation to be completed. Investigators are looking into Van Lienden and his partners at Relief Goods Alliance. They are accused of operating a for-profit business, which they claimed as not-for-profit. In doing so, they obtained steeply discounted business services, and won favor with politicians during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Helder also wants to wait for two more ongoing investigations into the purchase of personal protective equipment to be completed. She said she is doing this on the advice of the State Attorney.

The "chance of a possible lawsuit to succeed is increased" if a picture is created that is as complete as possible about the damage suffered by the State, Helder said in the debate. She attributed that perspective to the State Attorney.

Controversial debate followed

Still, a number of political parties walked out on the debate with Helder when they grew irritated with her answers. Caroline van der Plas of the BBB ​​was the first to do so, because she said she had enough with "the huge charade." PVV, DENK, Forum voor Democratie and Group van Haga followed her example.

Helder repeated time and time again that the former Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, Hugo de Jonge, did not exert any political pressure to close the face mask deal with Van Lienden. After all, that has not emerged from Deloitte's research, said Helder. He brought in the tip for the masks and repeatedly wanted to know how the negotiations were developing. "Maybe that wasn't so helpful."

Helder did not conclude from Deloitte's account of the facts that De Jonge actually exerted political pressure to close the deal with his fellow party member Van Lienden. Political pressure was experienced by civil servants, Helder admits, but whether this has actually been exerted is not certain.

A vicious debate followed, because according to a number of opposition parties it is more than clear that De Jonge pushed through the deal, but Helder stuck to her point of view and repeated it continuously. Some parliamentarians accused her of creating smokescreens. Van der Plas then asked to bring Hugo de Jonge to the Tweede Kamer, so that he could give a definite answer himself. That request was blocked by the coalition.

A number of factions then left the debate, because they believed it to be pointless to beat around the bush for hours on end. VVD MP Judith Tielen said she felt "genuinely offended" by these MPs.

Van der Plas told ANP that she did not decide in advance to walk away from the debate. She believes that the Tweede Kamer is "a toothless tiger" in this matter that the Cabinet will not take seriously. Van der Plas thinks it will come out during, for example, a parliamentary inquiry into the issue. Then De Jonge can indeed be heard because of his previous role as Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport. Moreover, he will then be under oath. If he does not tell the truth, he could be prosecuted for it.

The BBB leader said she would not return to the debate. FVD Member of Parliament Pepijn van Houwelingen later re-joined the debate.