Improvements at the State Advocate’s office
In response to the embezzlement of funds at the State Advocate’s office, Minister Grapperhaus of Justice and Security asked two external experts for independent advice on which requirements and accountability obligations the Dutch State can set as a client with regard to the State Advocate’s office. Prof. T.R. Ottervanger, Professor emeritus of European Law and Dutch Competition Law and former lawyer, and Prof. A.B. Hoogenboom, Professor of Forensic Business Administration with work experience at the Dutch State, have now given their recommendations. Minister Grapperhaus appreciates these recommendations and has sent them to the House of Representatives. This should lead to improvements in the relationship between the State and the State Advocate in the short, medium and long term. The improvements the government will be implementing are in addition to the measures already implemented by the State Advocate’s office.
Requirements for the State Advocate’s office
The extent of the embezzlement calls for serious action by the State Advocate’s office to prevent any recurrence and to safeguard its services for the State. The State Advocate’s office has already initiated a package of improvement measures. In addition, the minister has set the firm requirement that the State Advocate’s office must repay all the embezzled funds to the victims, and that it must cooperate fully with the investigations of the various regulatory authorities and the criminal investigation by the Public Prosecution Service.
Implementation of external experts’ recommendations
The recommendations of the external experts describe the relationship between the State and the State Advocate and which vulnerabilities this relationship may create for the State. The government will energetically set to work with the recommendations. To this end, a distinction is made between improvements that can be made in the short term, improvements for the medium term and improvements for which further advice is needed.
In the short term, for example, further requirements will be set with regard to the agreement between the State and the State Advocate to reduce risks. For example, an audit requirement will be included in the contract and an experienced Risk & Compliance Officer, Security Officer and Financial Officer will become part of the Management Team. In addition, the structure of the consultations with the State Advocate will be changed in the short term to improve communications with the State Advocate’s office.
Improvements in the medium term will include setting up an independent Supervisory Board at the State Advocate’s office. For the long-term recommendations, further research and analysis is needed in view of the many and various interests of the State. To this end, the government is also considering the appointment of a committee of experts to assist the government with one or more of these questions.