Parliament knew of Teeven deal

The House of Parliament has known about Teeven's deal in 2000 with drugs baron Cees H. for more than ten years. The then-minister of Justice Benk Korthals was informed at length about the accord by the president of the college of general prosecutors, J. de Wijkerslooth. During his time as acting public prosecutor, Teeven came across an arrangement with Cees H., who would swap a payment to the State of 300,000 guilders for regained access to accounts still filled with almost two million guilders. Korthals was informed of this deal, and was also explained why pacts of secrecy were made about the deal. The minister in turn informed the House of Parliament. In the television programme Nieuwsuur on Tuesday, it was suggested that Teeven kept the incident under wraps and was therefore implicated in a whitewashing scandal. Research done by De Telegraaf, with help of some involved, it seems that this is not the case at all. The face that the Tax Administration wasn't informed about the deal was relayed to the House of Parliament in writing by the Public Prosecution Authority (OM). This decision was made because the State would have been reprimanded in the end by the judge, if Justice lets go of assets seized during a deal, but tips the Tax Administration afterwards, who then confiscate the money again. Documents from ex-minister Korthals show that he is refuting allegations that the OM heads knew nothing and would never have okayed the deal anyway. This allegation was made on Nieuwsuur in 2006 by ex-general prosecutor Dato Steenhuis who was in the public eye for misbehavior, De Telegraaf reports.