Court case against three businessmen for controversial face mask deal to begin today

The court case against Sywert van Lienden, Camille van Gestel, and Bernd Damme about the controversial face mask deal is set to get underway at the court of Rotterdam on Thursday. The three partners are on trial for fraud, embezzlement, forgery, and money laundering. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) is also prosecuting their personal holdings and joint company Relief Goods Alliance.

Van Lienden and his business partners finalized a deal with the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 to supply 40 million face masks from China. Van Lienden had publicly stated in advance that he worked on a non-profit basis.

However, it became clear after the fact that they had completed the order via their commercial company, Relief Goods Alliance, instead of their non-profit organization, Stichting Hulptroepen Alliantie (SHA). They made millions of euros in profit by doing this.

The criminal case in Rotterdam will start with a preliminary hearing. It will be assessed whether the case is ready for a substantive hearing or whether there are any further investigation requests from the defense. The Public Prosecution Service has completed its criminal investigation.

The criminal case is separate from the civil lawsuit pending before the Amsterdam court. Both the Dutch State and the new SHA board are claiming an amount of approximately 29 million euros back from the men in that case, which is equal to the profit made from the face mask deal.

The government attorney argued during the civil case two weeks ago that the entrepreneurs deliberately defrauded the State. He quoted chat conversations that the men sent to each other and their partners. “Now fully agreed! No more money worries,” Van Lienden sent to his own partner.

Van Lienden’s lawyer emphasized during his arguments that the ministry knew that they were negotiating with a commercial party prior to the deal. “The policy was aimed toward buying, buying, buying to create a huge stock of face masks,” said the attorney. The court in Amsterdam will announce its verdict on February 5.