Rotterdam alderman now a suspect in own home's arson, accused of insurance fraud

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) is investigating whether Rotterdam alderman Faouzi Achbar (DENK) ordered the arson of his home in July last year. The alderman is suspected of insurance fraud, the OM revealed on Friday during the case against Rudney E. (36), who confessed to starting the fire, Rijnmond reports.

Achbar’s home on Pascalweg in Rotterdam-Lombardijen suffered extensive damage due to a fire on July 6 last year. Rudney E. told the authorities that two guys approached him in a snack bar in Rotterdam and offered him 150 euros to set the fire.

“They told me that the alderman had asked them to set fire to the house for the insurance. He was on holiday himself. The alderman would leave a window open. I climbed over the fence and went upstairs. I first checked whether anyone was home, otherwise, I would not have done it,” E. said. He did find the window open and entered the home that way, he said.

At the time, Achbar was in Berlin for the European Championship match between the Netherlands and Turkey. His wife and children were not at home either.

“Those guys later offered me 300 euros if I kept my mouth shut. In the end, I didn’t do that. I never got the money,” E. said.

Both Achbar and his wife have filed damage claims of tens of thousands of euros. The OM wants the claims to be frozen until the investigation is done. “Under normal circumstances, the claims would be admissible, but given the suspect’s statements and the ongoing investigation into the complainant, I would like to ask the judge to declare the claims inadmissible.”

The OM asked that the court sentence Rudney E. to two years in prison, eight months of which are conditionally suspended. The court will rule on July 4.

Another suspect has since been arrested, one of the young men who allegedly spoke to E. at the snack bar.