Court: Sywert van Lienden, partners must pay €20 mil. in face mask profits to charity

Sywert van Lienden and his business partners, Bernd Damme and Camille van Gestel, must pay over 20 million euros to the non-profit organization Stichting Huptroepen Alliantie, the court in Amsterdam ruled on Wednesday, NOS reports. The amount is the profit that the businessmen made in the face mask deal with the government.

The Dutch State had also claimed the money in this case, but the court ruled that the money should go to the foundation. Stichting Huptroepen Alliantie said it wanted to spend the money on charities, such as the Long Covid Foundation.

The case revolves around the deal Van der Lienden and his partners made with the government to supply face masks “for the heroes in healthcare” during the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The Netherlands was struggling with a shortage of personal protective equipment at the time. The deal with the government was that he would supply 40 million masks from China for 100 million euros.

Van Lienden frequently told the media that he would supply millions of facemasks through the non-profit Stichting Huptroepen Alliantie. However, the deal ultimately did not go through the non-profit foundation but Relief Goods Alliance, a commercial company owned by the three businessmen. They pocketed millions of euros in profit. Communications between the businessmen indicate that they were out for profit and aware that they were scamming the government.

Stichting Huptroepen Alliantie fired Van Lienden and Van Damme - Van Gestel resigned - and demanded compensation, saying that the businessmen abused the foundation to commit this fraud. The government also claimed the profit.

The court’s ruling does not mean that the over 20 million euros will immediately be released to the foundation. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) seized the money as part of the criminal case against Van Lienden and his partners and that seizure remains in place.