The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has reached procedural agreements with a 41-year-old man from Oosterhout. A settlement has also been made regarding the unlawfully obtained benefit. The amount involved is 1,369,106 euros, which has already been paid.
Investigation named Farragut revealed that the man, together with his brother and others, was involved in organized cocaine trafficking worth millions of euros and money laundering. These criminal offenses, involving the use of SKY-ECC messages, were committed in 2020 and 2021.
The OM and the defense of the suspect reached procedural agreements, which were discussed two weeks ago during a public hearing. At this hearing, the OM demanded a prison sentence of 5 years for cocaine trafficking, preparatory acts thereto, habitual money laundering, and underground banking of many millions of euros.
Unlawfully obtained benefit
In addition to the prison sentence, as part of a settlement between the Public Prosecution Service and the suspect, it was agreed that the suspect would pay an amount of 1,369,106 euros in unlawfully obtained benefit. This amount was paid before the hearing.
The public prosecutor during the hearing: “Without procedural agreements, a sentence between 8 and 9 years imprisonment would have been appropriate and required in this case. For the OM, a reduction of the sentence is justified because it saves time in the substantive handling of the case in the first instance. It also prevents an appeal, which saves time and court space. This agreement also ensures that the imposed sentence can be executed faster. The procedural agreements thus do justice to the interests of society.”
The Rotterdam court sentenced the man today to 5 years imprisonment with deduction of the time the man spent in pre-trial detention. This verdict is in accordance with the demand of the public prosecutor. In addition, by payment of the confiscation settlement, the confiscation case has ended by operation of law.
Settlement agreement
Entering into a settlement agreement in confiscating criminal assets is an independent authority of the OM. The OM believes that a suitable resolution has been reached in this case as the total calculated unlawfully obtained benefit has been fully repaid.
