Tuesday, 14 August 2012
DEN BOSCH – The Groen Invest hardwood fund in Veldhoven is suspected of bankruptcy fraud. The 68-year-old director is also under suspicion, according to the courts.
An investigation is currently being carried out by the fiscal intelligence and investigation service (FIOD). The trigger was a statement issued last May by the trustee of Groen Invest. He stated that duped investors would see no more than an 8% return on the 80 million Euros in investments.The investigation being carried out by FIOD will probably take until the end of the year. Once the investigation is completed, it will be decided whether prosecution will follow via a criminal case. No proper records have been kept since 2004, according to a statement by the prosecution. They suspect that investments made from 2007 have disappeared.The trustee concluded that the company did not have enough knowledge in house. Land was purchased in The Netherlands and abroad, which was not suitable for forestry. According to the trustee, the director used at least 2.4 million Euros of investor’s money for personal expenditures. Groen Invest declared bankruptcy in 2009. 6000 people were misled into investing money into the funds. Source: Omroep Brabant
