10 Former SNS Reaal bankers face prosecution for bribery and fraud

DutchNews, November 3, 2015

Ten managers from the former property arm of SNS Reaal face prosecution for fraud, bribery and organised money laundering, the NRC says on Tuesday afternoon.

Five other former officials have reached out of court settlements resulting in €475,000 in fines and community service sentences, the public prosecution department has confirmed.

All 15 worked at the SNS Property Finance division or were brought in as interims, the NRC says.

In total, eight of the SNS employees are suspected of paying bribes of over €2.3m to the two main suspects between 2010 and 2012. ‘The public prosecution department considers paying bribes and using fake bills to hide them to be very serious,’ the department said in a statement.

One of the two main suspects is former bank director Buck Groenhof. The other is named by the NRC as Pieter G, who was brought into the company by Groenhof.

SNS Reaal was nationalised on February 1, 2013 after its property division ran into serious financial problems. The first pre-trial hearing will take place on November 30 and December 1 and the case itself is likely to be heard next year.