The raid on Van Eerd’s house happened on Tuesday morning and lasted until the afternoon. FIOD employees confiscated boxes full of items, most likely documents.
The Public Prosecution Service had ordered the raid. It has to do with a large money laundering investigation. The money laundering was done through real estate transactions, car trading, unexplained cash deposits and sponsorship deals in motocross sport. In addition, there is a suspicion of VAT fraud in the car trade.
According to sources, two more places of Van Eerd were raided. Among others at Van Eerd Golf BV, where there are sheds with part of the car collection of the CEO of Jumbo. Two vehicles were allegedly impounded here.
The Jumbo head office is located next to Van Eerd Golf BV. Another source stated to the Financieele Dagblad that the FIOD and the police raided there to secure Van Eerd’s ‘personal belongings and communication’.
Nine arrests
That same Tuesday morning, nine arrests were made in the context of the money laundering investigation. It concerns suspects from Brabant and Drenthe. All suspects are currently in custody. This means that they may only have contact with their lawyer.
The Public Prosecution Service does not want to say whether the Jumbo CEO is one of the nine suspects who are detained. It is clear that he is being heard in the investigation. But according to the Financieele Dagblad, Frits van Eerd is also a suspect and he spent the night in jail. The newspaper reports this on the basis of sources surrounding the investigation.
Also raids in Drenthe
There were also raids in various places in Groningen and Drenthe on Tuesday. A 58-year-old man from the municipality of Aa en Hunze in Drenthe was arrested. He is the prime suspect in the investigation.
According to RTV Drenthe it is about Theo E., a well-known in the motocross world. His house was also searched. According to the FD, Theo E. in the past led a motocross team of which Jumbo was a sponsor and brought drivers who were looking for a lender into contact with Frits van Eerd. The CEO of Jumbo is a big fan of motorsport.
Reaction Jumbo
Jumbo Supermarkets distributed a memo among employees on Tuesday stating that they understood that ‘the investigation does not focus on Jumbo’. “In the context of the FIOD investigation, questions are being asked to Frits van Eerd,” the memo said. During the day, a statement with the same content will be distributed to the press.
On Wednesday afternoon, the company is still holding tight: no further announcements will be made.
What now?
The public prosecutor will decide on Thursday how the investigation will continue and whether it is desirable that the suspects remain in custody. In that case they will be brought before the examining magistrate.
Source: Omroep Brabant
For Eindhoven News: Lila Mehrez
