Does EU directive 'PSP-CESOP' leave no more room for VAT fraudsters?
Trade over the internet, or e-commerce, has become an integral part of our daily lives. The supply of products on the internet continues to grow as does the group of people who know their way around the internet. Technical innovations contribute to this as it becomes easier and easier for provider and consumer to [...]
Court of Justice: EncroChat evidence is not simply usable
Court of Justice In addition to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) based in Strasbourg, France, which mainly handles complaints about human rights violations, the European Union has an equally important body and that is the Court of Justice (ECJ), based in Luxembourg. The ECJ was established to deal with the [...]
Underground banking poses one of biggest money laundering threats to Netherlands, but cash payments remain possible
Tackling money laundering continues to be a government spearhead in the fight against organised crime. Dutch policy on prevention and repression is based partly on the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF is an intergovernmental organisation in which the Netherlands is also represented. For EU member states, it [...]
On (the distribution of) illegally obtained benefit
It is settled case law, including from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), that money allegedly earned from criminal offences may be 'plucked' from the convicted person by the authorities. A procedure for 'deprivation of illegally obtained benefit', begins with a claim by the public prosecutor (OM). The amount in [...]
European Court of Human Rights reprimands the Netherlands
The Netherlands is not the best boy in the class when it comes to human rights compliance. In the recent past, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has reprimanded the Netherlands several times. In 2016, the Netherlands was told in the Murray judgment that the way the life sentence violated [...]
When are acts of preparation referred to in the Opium Act?
In many drug cases, defendants are accused of committing criminal acts of preparation or promotion. Acts of preparation or promotion are acts that are not punishable in themselves, but which facilitate the execution of certain opium offences. Preparatory and promotion acts: In itself, the provision of a shed, money, certain chemicals or a [...]
How informative is the subpoena?
When the preliminary criminal investigation proceeds to the final investigation, the public prosecutor (OM) proceeds to draw up the summons. This summons will also have to describe the offences for which the suspect has to answer. This information function of the indictment aims to ensure that the suspect (together with his lawyer) is as [...]
So when is there a risk of recurrence(recidivism)?
To keep someone in pre-trial detention, there must be good reasons. These reasons can be assumed if there is a shaken legal order, the investigation is not yet complete, there is a risk of flight or there is a danger of recurrence. The term "repetition" or "recidivism" does not appear in the law. [...]
House arrest as chief punishment?
In the Netherlands, we have four main penalties. They are: imprisonment, imprisonment, community service and a fine. Detention and imprisonment are both custodial penalties, but detention lasts shorter and can be imposed for offences. These are classified in the law as less serious than crimes. The enforcement of custody, like pre-trial detention, generally takes place in [...].
Corruption? 'Criminal law is not the solution to the lack of sound rules on party financing'
On Friday 21 April, the Rotterdam District Court acquitted a former alderman from The Hague and several others, of corruption. It was for the first time that the Public Prosecutor's Office (OM) had made various party donations to a start-up local political party central to the premise of official bribery. Not only were the officials of the political [...]
How is the illegally obtained benefit calculated?
If someone has earned money by committing illegal activities, there may be 'illegally obtained benefit'. At the request of the Public Prosecution Service (OM), the court can impose a confiscation measure obliging the convicted person to pay this benefit to the state. But how is this benefit determined? Unlawfully obtained benefit [...]
Prejudicial questions
Will there finally be some acceleration in the syrupy criminal justice process? Almost anyone who has been involved in a criminal trial will agree that the chain is pretty congested. There is often a long wait for a verdict. And certainly for a final judgment by the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court. A personal life [...]