Amsterdam official accused of leaking sensitive data linked to multiple violent crimes

Jim B., the municipal official arrested in May in Amsterdam, allegedly accessed computer systems at work “hundreds, and possibly thousands, of times” without authorization, according to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), in order to pass information on to criminals.

The OM suspects B., who is from Almere, of being an accomplice in a series of serious violent crimes, including explosions at multiple addresses across the country and an attempted murder or manslaughter in The Hague.

The suspect was arrested on May 12 and is currently in custody. A first preliminary hearing against the 47-year-old took place on Wednesday at the Amsterdam court. He did not attend the hearing, nor was his lawyer present.

B. worked in the Tax Collection Department of the municipality of Amsterdam. He was known as “dedicated and loyal,” the OM said at the hearing, and “his arrest was a bombshell.” Jim B. was “a civil servant with two faces.”

Two information brokers were arrested in connection with this investigation in July. The OM wants to include their cases in the trial against B. A first hearing with the three suspects is scheduled for October 17. According to the prosecution, investigations into other potential suspects are still ongoing.

The OM emphasized that B. knew what the information was being used for. He stated that he felt “trapped in a web that he could not escape from.”

Although the illegal, corrupt activities are, according to the OM, “linked to numerous violent incidents since August 2024,” the indictment includes only a selection of them.

It concerns explosions at a shelter in Apeldoorn and at homes in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Leiden, Valkenburg, and Purmerend. The attempted murder or manslaughter took place at a garage in The Hague.

How much B. was paid for the information has not been discovered as of yet. The investigation into the man began in March after evidence came in that a municipal official had requested and given away information during a different investigation into the explosions.

The detectives traced it back to B., and further investigation showed that he had frequently accessed the computer systems, with many violent incidents following as a result.

The OM aims for a substantive hearing of the case in April next year.