The Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations is investigating a possible illegal donation to BoerBurgerBeweging. A ministry spokesperson reported this to BNR.

The investigation focuses on an in-kind donation from ReMarkAble, the communications agency of Wim Groot Koerkamp, ​​one of the party’s founders.

ReMarkAble has done a lot of work for the party since the BBB’s founding, from running the web store to sending out press releases. BNR reported earlier this month that the company would earn more than €200,000 in 2022. Groot Koerkamp himself was billed at a rate of €110 per hour.

Read also | BBB founder bills his party in excess of €200,000

A price that is not in line with the market is an “in-kind donation.”

The BBB then stated in its response that Koerkamp did not actually pay the invoice amount. Treasurer Jan Broek said the BBB received a discount of between 40 and 70 euros on the usual hourly rate, depending on the nature of the work.

The ministry, which is responsible for supervising political party financing, sees such a deduction as a donation to the party. “If a person or company offers a free service or a discount on the market price for that service, the difference should be considered a gift in kind,” a ministry spokesperson said.

The accountant refused to sign the previous donation

By law, these donations must be published in the party’s annual report. This prevents anonymous lenders from influencing policy. However, the BBB’s 2022 annual report does not list any in-kind donations. “BZK is currently investigating this case and has asked the BBB for clarification,” a BNR spokesperson said.

The 2021 annual report had mentioned an in-kind donation from ReMarkAble of €45,000, but the accountant then refused to sign off on that item because “sufficient audit information about the accuracy and completeness” of the donation had not been provided.

The gift may also be very large

The reporting requirement is not the only rule the BBB may have violated. Since 2022, individuals have also been banned from donating more than 100,000 euros. If the opponent exceeds this amount in value, that is also against the rules, says Ruud Cole, professor of political science at Leiden University. “The party must then recover the excess amount paid.” According to Cole, it is not immediately clear what should happen in the case of an in-kind gift.

If the Ministry concludes that the rules have been violated, the Committee for Supervision of Financial Affairs of Political Parties (Ctfpp) will be asked to advise. An administrative fine may subsequently be imposed. This rarely happens. In 2020, the committee advised then-Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Kaisa Ollongren to fine the Democracy Forum for inadequate accountability. Ollongren then ignored this advice.

The BBB was reprimanded shortly before the election

In theory, subsidies that were wrongly waived could also be restored, Cole says. However, the threshold for this is even higher. “In practice, the ministry is not very proactive in this regard.”

Shortly before the election, the BBB received a reprimand from Ctfpp President Martin Van Dam, who Message to the Minister I found that a BBB board member failed to sign off on financial reports. According to Van Dam, the BBB and other parties showed “inadequate respect for the rigorous election process” by providing incomplete documentation about their lenders before the election.

Groot Koerkamp previously declared that the creation of the BBB was financially beneficial for his party. “The creation of the BBB did us no harm,” Marcia Nieuwenhuis noted in her book. Pull the trigger for power.

Groot Koerkamp left the BBB in 2021. He left in October Daily Finance I know he wants to divest his shares in ReMarkAble and focus fully on building a public broadcaster.

The BBB and Wim Groot Koerkamp did not respond to requests for comment.