For over seven years, suspicions of fraud have lingered regarding aid intended for combating youth radicalization in Rotterdam. In the Netherlands, the public prosecutor's office has identified three key suspects accused of redirecting the subsidies to fund a cheese factory in Morocco. Local elected officials are urging the mayor's office to thoroughly investigate and resolve the issue. Rotterdam's local councillors have called for a full and thorough investigation following years of mystery surrounding the misappropriation of aid meant for de-radicalization programs. The subsidies were allegedly used to fund the activities of a cheese factory in Morocco. In a written reply to the council on Wednesday, Mayor Carola Schouten (Christian Union) highlighted several grey areas in the case while defending municipal staff whose actions had come under suspicion. Quoted by PZC, Democratic councillor Ingrid van Wifferen stated, «The mayor's answers show that very little is known», including basic facts such as «how much money disappeared» and «how the fraud was carried out». Simon Ceulemans, leader of the right-wing Leefbaar group, urged the council to «demand more information from the public prosecutor's office and, if this proves insufficient, pursue a thorough external investigation». Suspicions around a prominent social foundation According to sources, the case involves three men who allegedly embezzled the funds and invested them in cheese production in Morocco. One of the suspects previously served as a Labour Party (PvdA) councillor over two decades ago. Two of the three suspects were founding members of Attanmia, a highly regarded social foundation that had previously hosted King Willem-Alexander. The foundation is renowned for organizing training sessions aimed at helping parents prevent youth radicalization. The misappropriation was first reported anonymously in 2017. Although the fraud had allegedly spanned several years, it was not until early 2024 that the Public Prosecutor's Office announced it would prosecute the three suspects. Legal questions and controversies In December 2024, just before the case went to court, the Public Prosecutor's Office announced an agreement with the three suspects. After pleading guilty, the defendants were sentenced to community service and fines. However, questions persist about the involvement of a fourth individual, an official from the municipality's security department. This employee allegedly approved a €9,500 loan to one of the suspects. Former Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb, who served from 2009 to 2024, stated in a 2018 debate that this employee was not connected to the case. Later, the same individual was called as a witness. In her letter, Mayor Schouten, Aboutaleb's successor, maintained that there was «no reason to doubt the integrity of this employee». Recently, the man's home has been targeted by explosions on five separate occasions, reportedly due to a criminal dispute involving one of his relatives.
