Overview
- The trial began with a procedural hearing in Zwolle, covering both the FIOD corruption case and a Customs investigation into alleged evasion of Russia trade sanctions.
- Charges detail alleged bribery, falsified records and money laundering from 2006 to 2016 across the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa, plus suspected sanctions breaches in 2022.
- Two individuals accepted penal orders from the prosecution, including current marketing director Sander van O., who reportedly received 160 hours of community service.
- Founders Kommer and CEO Arnout Damen and former chairman René Berkvens are indicted alongside intermediary Stephen Hobson; the principal defendants did not attend and substantive hearings will follow.
- Damen’s lawyer called the probe incomplete and plans to summon more than 100 witnesses, while a corruption conviction could trigger a four-year ban from public tenders that would jeopardize defense orders.