Two hospitality entrepreneurs in The Hague would have won votes for Group de Mos, the local political party of Richard de Mos, for the 2018 municipal elections. This is evident from tapped telephone conversations of which the transcriptions have been viewed by NRC.
During the municipal elections on March 21, 2018, Groep de Mos emerged as the biggest winner with 8 seats. In and around the Schilderswijk, votes of voters with a migration background are said to have been bought.
This is evident from telephone conversations conducted by catering entrepreneur Erdinç A. who, together with his brother Atilla A., are suspects in the corruption case that the National Criminal Investigation Department brought to the then councilors Richard de Mos and Rachid Guernaoui.
A. would like to reward the president of the Turkish Azerbaijani Cultural Association in The Hague for helping to get votes. A source within the Turkish community acknowledges NRC that a week before the elections in Turkish circles it was known that the A. brothers would pay 150 euros for twenty voting cards.
“Rachid and Richard are in our hands”
“Rachid and Richard are in our hands,” said A. in a conversation in November 2018 with the president of the Cultural Association, referring to Guernaoui and De Mos, who have both become councilors.
The election results also indicate possible voting fraud, because the number of votes cast by proxy at various polling stations was strikingly high.
At one polling station, Atilla A., who was on the electoral list of Groep de Mos, received three-quarters of the votes on that party. A third of the votes were cast by proxy at that office. Nationally, that percentage is around ten percent
City councilors lost confidence city council
In October 2019, the then councilors Richard de Mos and Rachid Guernaoui were accused of corruption by the Public Prosecution Service. The suspicions included arranging payment permits. The two councilors lost the confidence of the city council a day later.
In November, it turned out that De Mos and Guernaoui were also suspected of favoring party member Atilla A. in the sale of a large municipal building.
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