Dutch State has spent €200 million handling Flight MH17 disaster that left 298 dead

The Dutch government has spent almost 200 million euros up to the end of last year as a result of the downed flight MH17 in 2014, the Netherlands Court of Audit reported. The organization already came up with a calculation of the costs for the Dutch government up to and including 2022 at the start of the year.

Up to that point, the government institutions had spent a total of 166 million euros as a result of the plane that was taken down above Ukraine. Another 32.4 million euros was added to this. The increase in 2023 is largely due to the advances for compensation that the central government paid to relatives of the victims.

Three suspects in the incident were sentenced to life in prison by the court in The Hague and were also forced to pay damage fees, but it is very unclear whether they will ever pay these fees.

The government also spent money on aftercare for the relatives of the victims, the aftermath of the criminal investigation, and ongoing international proceedings. Costs were also made by police and ministries for meetings, the storage of wreckage, and the archiving of documents.

Maintaining the MH-17 monument also costs money. Costs that individuals and companies have incurred since the disaster are not included. "The suffering of the relatives of the passengers who died on the plane cannot be expressed in monetary terms at all," the Court added.

On July 17, 2014, an aircraft of Malaysian Airlines, which had departed from Schiphol towards Malaysia, was shot down above Eastern Ukraine. All 298 people onboard lost their lives, including 196 Dutch citizens.

The overview of what the disaster has cost the Dutch government is used by the Cabinet in a procedure that the Netherlands is conducting together with Australia against Russia. The countries have held Russia liable for all costs incurred as a result of the attack.