Fraudster selling horse meat as beef ordered to pay €1 million

Willy Selten, owner of a now bankrupt meat wholesaler of the same name, must pay the bankruptcy administrator for his business 1 million euros, the court in Oost-Brabant ruled on Wednesday. That amount may increase even further if the court deems it necessary at a later date, NU.nl reports. Selten was sentenced to 30 months in prison last year for selling horse meat as beef on a large scale for several years. This fraud was discovered by the Dutch food and consumer product safety authority NVWA early in 2013. The company's stock was seized, products were recalled and production was stopped. The wholesaler was declared bankrupt a few months later. The court ruled that it is clear that the horse meat affair involved maladministration and that this was an important contributing factor to the company's bankruptcy. "The administration of the bankrupt company consciously violated European rules for meat processing and the defendant had to realize that the consequences for the company at the discovery of this practice would likely be disastrous", the court ruled. The court ruled that Selten must pay 1 million euros to the bankruptcy administrator. The administrator demanded 12 million euros from Selten, but the court lowered the amount as it is not yet certain that the company's remaining debt will be that large.