Former mayor of The Hague Pauline Krikke (VVD) knew that there might be corruption at Hart voor Den Haag/Groep de Mos. This was stated by the highest security officer of the municipality in an interrogation. She would have been warned several times by officials, according to transcripts of interrogations in the Hague corruption investigation, which are in the hands of Broadcasting West.
In October 2019, police raided the offices and homes of former councilors Richard de Mos and Rachid Guernaoui in The Hague, in an investigation into corruption and bribery. The two then resigned from their position.
A few hours after the raids, Krikke said she was “extremely shocked” and “knew nothing about it”. Statements now show that although the former mayor probably did not know about the raids in advance, she had already received several signals about a conflict of interest within the party. Krikke subsequently did not do anything with it, the security official said. No further questions were asked to officials about the rumours, and she would never have asked the aldermen for clarification.
no judgment yet
The Public Prosecution Service suspects De Mos and Guernaoui of participating in criminal organizations, perjury, corruption and violation of their professional secrecy. Investigations would reveal a picture of bribery, preferential treatment and information leaks. The substantive treatment is still pending; according to Omroep West, possibly even until the end of 2022. Hearings are planned at the beginning of next year.
De Mos wants the case to be dropped. “I hope for wisdom from the Public Prosecution Service. That they do not do this to themselves either. Because if they do continue, they will go off like a watering can. I can understand that they have started an investigation as a result of false reports and political framing. But if they don’t find anything, they must also stop. Eventually they will back down,” he previously told the regional broadcaster. Guernaoui agrees and also says that they have not acted wrong.
Krikke does not want to respond to questions from Omroep West as long as the criminal investigation is still ongoing.
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