Government advisor warns racism is clearly a factor in organized crime investigations

There needs to be a thorough investigation into the consequences of using nationality in tackling crimes that undermine society. The National Coordinator against Discrimination and Racism called for this when speaking to Follow The Money. "This does not smell of racism; it is racism."

The media outlet reported on Tuesday on the Dutch government’s ten Regional Information and Expertise Centers (RIEC), a collaboration between 11 investigative offices and national agencies, as well as local and provincial government representatives. These centers register the nationality and birth country of people who might be involved in crimes which undermine or subvert society, which oftentimes involve people using legitimate businesses and services as fronts for illegal activities.

Follow the Money handed over their findings to Robin Baldewsingh, the National coordinator against Discrimination and Racism. Baldewsingh was especially concerned about a RIEC report that described the links between Turkish culture and the Turkish community's involvement in fraud.

The report stated, among other things, that Turkish people will do everything they can to avoid paying taxes, are skilled in all kinds of fraud, and help each other where possible.

Baldewsingh was shocked by the description used in the report. 'This language says a lot about the way of thinking. It is discriminatory and racist.' He also mentioned how the report clarified that selection was based on origin and that there was 'no objective justification' for this.

Eylem Köseoglu, the PvdA party leader in the municipal council of Zaanstad, has said that this must be investigated. Many of the Turkish business owners mentioned in the report work in Zaandam. He added that people in lower-income areas are already confronted with prejudices and discrimination. "It is unacceptable that someone's background makes them suspect by definition. This fuels distrust towards the government and institutions.'

It is unclear whether the registration of nationalities has led to more action being taken against migrant groups. The RIEC has not investigated this. It has been determined that the info was used during analysis and was stored in the expertise center's system.

The registrations were quietly stopped in 2022 after it was notified internally that this could lead to discrimination.