Former Jumbo CEO Frits van Eerd will hear today whether he must go to jail for money laundering, forgery, and bribery. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demands two years in prison, eight months of which are suspended, for the co-owner of the supermarket concern.
Van Eerd, son of Jumbo founder Karel van Eerd and one-third owner of the company, denies all accusations against him. The case came to light in the autumn of 2022 and has everything to do with Van Eerd’s involvement in the sponsorship of motor and auto racing.
The then Jumbo CEO was arrested in September 2022 after the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) raided his home. It soon came out that large amounts of cash were found, including the imaginative 75,000 euros in the refrigerator.
In total, almost 450,000 euros in cash was found in Van Eerd’s house and workshop. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), Van Eerd laundered that money. Furthermore, he allegedly received gifts in exchange for sponsorship contracts. Money that came from Jumbo for sponsoring did not fully reach the sport, according to the OM.
The arrest of Van Eerd came as a complete surprise to Jumbo, the company said. An investigation commissioned by the supermarket chain into the money flows in sports sponsorship did not reveal any irregularities within the company. Van Eerd did step down as CEO of the supermarket company, initially temporarily.
Van Eerd will definitely not return as Jumbo CEO
In March 2023, Jumbo announced that it had appointed a new CEO. The company also reported at the time that Van Eerd will no longer return as CEO. However, he will remain owner of Jumbo together with his two sisters.
The Public Prosecution Service states that Van Eerd has caused reputational damage to the company. Yet, the Van Eerd family has never let him down.
Already in 2014, something was going on around Van Eerd and E.
The lawsuit also knows another suspect, car dealer Theo E. Four years have been demanded against this main suspect. According to the Public Prosecution Service, Van Eerd and E. were both involved in the fraud surrounding sponsorship in motor and auto racing.
Already in 2014, Jumbo reported fraud against E. At the time, then-CEO Van Eerd was briefly in the picture as a suspect. But the Public Prosecution Service quickly reversed that at the time.
The court in Groningen will pronounce judgment at 13:00.