According to Theo E.’s lawyers, Frits van Eerd deliberately chose to finance his hobbies with Jumbo’s money. E. never tempted him to do so, so there is no question of bribery, his defense argued on Thursday.
According to his lawyer Christian Flokstra, E. simply wanted to make money. He didn’t care whether Van Eerd paid him in cash or through a falsified sponsorship contract. The fact that the former Jumbo executive chose the latter was because it was more beneficial for him fiscally. Defrauding his own company, Flokstra said in his plea in court in Groningen.
The lawyer cited a press release from September 13, 2022, the day his client and Van Eerd were arrested. E. was described as a linchpin in a large-scale money laundering investigation. According to Flokstra, almost three years later, very little of that suspicion remains. The lawyer describes the suspicion of bribery as a legal emergency measure to make something of the case that started with great fanfare.
In addition to bribery, E. is suspected of forgery, mortgage fraud and tax evasion. On Tuesday, he heard a four-year prison sentence demanded against him. E. only denies bribery of the suspicions. Van Eerd, in turn, denies being bribed. He would have paid cash for everything he bought from E., such as toolboxes and motorcycles.
The stories of E. and Van Eerd differ in this regard. E. claims that he was never paid in cash. The payments he received came in via a sponsorship contract. According to the Public Prosecution Service, two sponsorship contracts have been falsified.
Van Eerd swore to break ties
Jumbo sponsored a motocross team for a certain amount, the owner of which channeled part of it to E.’s company. According to the Public Prosecution Service, this happened with Van Eerd’s knowledge.
This allowed Van Eerd to continue doing business with E., after Jumbo had vowed in 2014 to break off all business contacts with E. The former motorcycle racer was then coach of a motocross team and was financed by Jumbo. The sponsorship money was used by E. to launder drug money.
Jumbo broke off all business ties with E. in a letter signed by Van Eerd, but three years later they met again privately. They also picked up the thread again in business terms, resulting in this lawsuit.