MP accused of lying in subsidy fraud scheme

Henk Krol from Eindhoven is lying about the way he used subsidies. This is according to Louis Deterink, the bankruptcy administrator of the Krol companies that went bankrupt last year. Anyone who has questions about how Krol used subsidies has recently been referred to Deterink, because he has the administration of these companies. The Stichting Vrienden van de Gaykrant (SVG) has recently been in the news because they have to pay a 200 thousand euro subsidy back to the state. That subsidy was allegedly misused while Krol was in charge of the Gaykrant and the foundation. On Wednesday the SVG laid charges against politician Henk Krol for fraud, forgery and embezzlement of subsidies. The foundation is also filing charges against an official of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), who initially approved the subsidy. Charges were also filed against the accountant who approved the financial statements of the foundation, even though he was aware of the misallocation. A few weeks ago the foundation's lawyer, Oscar Hammerstein, seized Krol's two houses. According to Hammerstein, Krol refuses any liability, which is why they have filed these charges against him. Henk Krol reacts resigned to the situation. "I am condemned by almost the entire media who knows exactly how it was. Now it's where it belongs, namely the court. Let the court see how it is. I am confident" says Krol. Krol's lawyer, Rogier Keuning, finds the situation rather exaggerated. "The foundation says that there is evidence against Henk Krol, but I have not seen any evidence." The lawyer also wonders why the foundation has not previously addressed their concerns to the accountant. As chairman of the SVG Krol applied for a subsidy from the Ministry of Education for gay emancipation. Krol then allegedly funneled the subsidy into his distressed companies and used it to pay unpaid bills. These companies included the Gaykrant, of which Krol was owner and chief editor. The current board members of the SVG only noticed after Krol's departure that he did not have the administration in order and that he messed with the subsidies. The foundation is now responsible for paying back the subsidy, but the current directors claim that they can not repay the subsidy because the foundation has no money due to Krol's embezzlement. Krol has a temporary seat in the Chamber since September, when he replaced the sick Martine Baay. He left politics last year after reports that he had not always paid the pension contributions of the Gaykrant's employees when he was chief editor of that newspaper.