Money laundering case against former Jumbo CEO Frits van Eerd started

This article was last updated on September 16, 2024

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Money laundering case against former Jumbo CEO started: ‘cash in the refrigerator’

Two years after the police and the tax investigation service FIOD raided Frits van Eerd’s home, the lawsuit against the former boss of the Jumbo supermarket chain started today. The suspicion: repeated money laundering of significant amounts.

Van Eerd himself did not show up in court in Assen this afternoon. His lawyer heard there that the fallen CEO is officially suspected of concealing received gifts, forgery and habitual money laundering. If convicted, that could be enough for years in prison.

Suspected car dealer

Van Eerd started leading the Jumbo family business in 2002. Under his leadership, the supermarket chain grew rapidly, including acquisitions of C1000 and Super de Boer.

Van Eerd was not only concerned with entrepreneurship. He also loves sports, is a driver himself and liked to invest his Jumbo money in sponsorship deals for motorcycle and car sports.

Through that world he came into contact with the Drenthe car dealer Theo E., the main suspect in this case. E. is team boss of a motor sports team, but also ventures into shadier worlds. The car dealer has been convicted of money laundering in the past and is said to have close ties with serious criminals.

Dirt bikes and stacks of cash

This E. dragged Van Eerd into his money laundering cases, according to the Public Prosecution Service. The indictment shows that 448,000 euros in cash was found during the searches at Van Eerd. Part was in a safe in his house, another part was in his office in Veghel, including in a refrigerator.

Van Eerd also received all kinds of expensive gifts from or via E., such as a low loader for transporting cars, six luxury tool boxes and several dirt bikes. And he was allowed to use a classic red Mercedes Benz.

In return, he would have had Jumbo sponsor sports teams for hundreds of thousands of euros.

Media attention

The trial against Van Eerd and E. started today with a preliminary hearing, without both suspects. “Due to the management nature, my client is not present today,” says Van Eerd’s lawyer, Master Jonk. He also wants to avoid media attention for a while.

He will be present at the substantive sessions and take the floor, Jonk announced. Those hearings will not take place until next year, probably in July. Van Eerd will deny the suspicions. “My client is happy that he can start telling his side of the story.”

Through his lawyer, Van Eerd asks for a fair trial and understanding for the fact that he is “not a normal suspect”. This is important when it comes to, for example, the amounts of money found. “Whether that is a lot of money depends on the suspect.”

The lawyer of car dealer E. keeps it short. He reports that trial arrangements are still being discussed with the Public Prosecution Service, “which does not mean that my client acknowledges the facts in the indictment.”