Five men arrested for buying Lamborghinis with subsidies intended to fix Groningen homes
The authorities arrested five men this week on suspicion of committing forgery and fraud with subsidies related to earthquake damage in Groningen. They allegedly wrongfully received over €1 million intended to fix earthquake damage in the province. The authorities seized six luxury cars, including two Lamborghinis and a Ferrari, from the suspects, the FIOD reported.
The suspects are real estate developers with numerous properties in Groningen. They are suspected of falsifying documents from the Groningen Mining Damage Institute (IMG) to wrongfully apply for subsidies through the Northern Netherlands Cooperation (SNN). “As a result, these real estate developers received more subsidy money than they were entitled to,” the FIOD said. These subsidies are intended to help Groningen residents with extensive earthquake damage make their homes more sustainable.
The FIOD, the Tax Authority’s investigative department, arrested the suspects on Tuesday, November 18. According to the FIOD, the suspects submitted over 300 subsidy applications to the SNN using forged letters from the IMG. They are suspected of having wrongly received over €1 million.
When raiding their homes and business premises in the municipalities of Westerkwartier and Oud-Beijerland, the police seized an Audi RS6 Avant, Ferrari Purosangue, Lamborghini Urus, Lamborghini Huracan Cabriolet, Maserati Levante S, and Maserati Grancabrio M145. Authorities also seized physical and digital records, data carriers, bank accounts, real estate, a firearm, several other weapons, and 31 kilograms of illegal fireworks.
The suspects are four men from Westerkwartier aged 26, 53, 54, and 54, and a 53-year-old man from Oud-Beijerland. The investigation against them is ongoing.
The SNN subsidies involved are for Groningen residents with recognized earthquake damage exceeding €1,000. They can apply for a subsidy of up to €4,000 to make their homes more sustainable.
According to the FIOD, there are reports that some real estate developers are falsifying IMG documents and applying for subsidies for dozens of properties simultaneously, even though only a few addresses actually have over €1,000 in assessed damage.
