Supreme Court affirms Holleeder accomplice sentence

The Supreme Court yesterday sustained the verdict of businessman Jan Dirk Paarlberg. The Court of Justice in Amesterdam gave Paarlberg 4 years in jail for whitewashing €17 million that Willem Holleeder extorted from real estate mogul Willem Endstra. Next to whitewashing, Paarlberg has also been found guilty of swindling and tax fraud. Holleeder has been sentenced for the extortion of Endstra, who was killed in 2004, and has carried out his punishment. Paarlberg has always denied that he dealt with Holleeder. Paarlberg had a business relationship with Endstra in the past. The payment of the so-called 'Endstramillions' happened in the framework of the dismantling of those relations, Paarlberg has always maintained. According to the Supreme Court, no evidence has been submitted, leading to the Highest Court having to nullify the Court of Justice judgement. This is the reason why there is also no new argument. Paarlberg's defense was not in agreement with the evidence-based argument and thought that the court did not explain its decision satisfactorily.