Rinnooy Kan to investigate questions about the Royal House in the case against Poch

Prof. A.H.G. (Alexander) Rinnooy Kan is to carry out an investigation following questions in the House of Representatives about the Royal House in the case against Mr J.A. (Julio) Poch. Further to a motion from the House of Representatives, Minister Grapperhaus of Justice and Security decided to set up a committee headed by Mr Rinnooy Kan for this purpose. This is the crux of the letter that the Minister submitted to the House of Representatives today.

In the debate of 14 September 2021 on the course of events surrounding the extradition of Mr Poch to Argentina, the House of Representatives tabled a motion requesting an independent investigation into the alleged influencing of the Royal House in the criminal case against Poch. During the debate, questions were raised about the role of the Royal House following the broader investigation by the J.A. Poch File Committee under the leadership of Prof. A.J. Machielse, former advocate general of the Supreme Court.

In Machielse's broader report on the Poch case, the Royal House is mentioned in connection with a telephone call that was allegedly made to the then vice-president of Eurojust. Therefore, the Rinnooy Kan Committee will include the following aspects in its investigation:

• The question of how anyone outside the Public Prosecution Service and the National Criminal Investigation Department could have known about the investigation into Mr. Poch in the early summer of 2007, as only a small number of people were aware of it at the time;
• The significance of the statements made by the then Vice-President of Eurojust in his meeting with the J.A. Poch File Committee.

The Rinnooy Kan Committee will submit its report to the Minister of Justice and Security by 1 June 2022.