Talk about a strong suspicion. “He would also be the head of a criminal organization,” Klaassen said. “His party is said to have entered into corrupt partnerships with all kinds of entrepreneurs in The Hague. In exchange for party donations in the greenhouse, they would all receive benefits.’
De Mos became alderman in The Hague in 2018 after a successful election campaign, but the judiciary caught up with him fairly quickly, after which an investigation was launched. The file – comprising 15,000 pages – was heard by the judge today and, according to Klaassen, the judiciary has not lost a political corruption case that has gone to court since 1990. “So the statistics look bleak for De Mos and co.” continues. “But De Mos’ lawyer and De Mos himself say they will stop the series, because so far they deny everything.”
Apps and phone calls
However, Klaassen thinks the case won’t end in De Mos’ favor. “Obviously I don’t know the whole file, but I’m shocked by the apps and the phone calls between him and the donors in the criminal file, which we managed to publish last week,” he continues. “They go far enough, he admits he does his best for certain sponsors.”
According to Klaassen, it’s easy to say it’s too quid pro quo, but De Mos’ story is always that he had no choice. “She claims he was building a party and therefore had to ask for donations,” she says. “And that she mostly went to gather knowledge, because she didn’t know much. This will be his line of defense, so it will be interesting to see how far the judge agrees.”
Transparency
Klaassen also believes that the transparency of the case, to the extent that it exists, is also noteworthy. “It’s an interesting question, because the feel and the look is one of transparency,” he continues. “But when you ask questions in City Hall, there are people who didn’t know anything about certain donations. That gray area will be explored in court over the next few weeks.’