News Advocacy
Van der Tak responds to role in subsidy fraud
According to reports in the Financieele Dagblad, LTO chairman Sjaak van der Tak played a dubious role in the non-repayment of overpaid GMO subsidies by the now bankrupt growers' association FresQ. Brussels is demanding more than €52 million back. Van der Tak states that he has never interfered with the matter substantively, only facilitating.
This concerns money that was paid to FresQ in the years 2011 and 2012, but which, in retrospect, appears to have been unfairly paid out, according to EU investigation. That is something that happened more often in those years. Growers (organisations) applied for and received a GMO subsidy, but ex post checks regularly showed that too many investments had been classified as eligible. This happened not only in the Netherlands, but also in other EU member states. In 2009 FresQ had also received €23,4 million in GMO subsidy, in hindsight, that had been wrongly paid out, and was then reimbursed.
An amount of €52,6 million was not refunded and attempts by Brussels to make that happen were canceled according to the article today (January 27) in the Financieele Dagblad stopped by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, in consultation with Van der Tak, among others.
The FD writes that an investigation by the newspaper shows that Van der Tak 'appeared at the ministry for the suspected tomato grower Kaaij Brothers'. According to the newspaper, according to the Public Prosecution Service, RVO and the NVWA, FresQ was 'not a real collaboration of horticulturalists, but just a front man of horticultural company Kaaij Brothers'.
RVO versus LNV and an app that is too broad
Apart from the involvement of Van der Tak, there are several notable sides to the case: the subsidy fraud was initiated by the Rijksdienst Voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO), a government agency, but the Ministry of LNV is apparently making an effort to to prevent the recovery of the European subsidy. It is also remarkable how the affair, as it is now circulating, started to roll: because Van der Tak sent an app to the Van der Kaaij brothers too widely. That app quotes the FD: 'Good afternoon Leo. And Cor. Letter from EU Brussels last week to Minister LNV that EU debt GMO FresQ will not be forgiven. The minister does not accept this rejection and will lodge a reply, form of objection and appeal. In addition, the amount to be paid GMO FreshQ remains as recoverable collection. Bad news, but Min LNV is not going to let it go. Agreed that I will be kept informed more regularly.'
Parliamentary questions
Wybren van Haga (Group Van Haga) asked parliamentary questions about the issue this morning. He wants to know from the Minister of LNV, among other things: "Can you explain why LTO chairman Van der Tak is standing in the breach for the fraud suspect? Please provide a detailed answer as to why LTO chairman communicates about non-repayment of fraud millions and actively informs the main suspect."
Van der Tak is no longer involved with the issue
Van der Tak sets up a reaction on the LTO website that he has intervened in the case of GMO subsidies in recent years, and that he has also had contact with FresQ and the Van der Kaaij brothers, but that he only wanted to facilitate and not provide any substantive involved in the matter. Because of the image, Van der Tak concludes afterwards that it would have been better not to get involved in the matter at all. He will no longer do that from his current position, he reports.
Klaas van der Horst
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