White-collar criminals will be subject to much tougher punishment, including prison sentences, if a motion being introduced to parliament on Tuesday by caretaker justice minister Ivo Opstelten is passed.

The minister wants prison sentences for the misuse of government and council subsidies and for companies to be fined 10% of their annual turnover for fraud and money laundering, the Telegraaf reports.
Opstelten says the punishment of white-collar crime is too soft and he expects parliament, which has been arguing for tougher sentences for some time, to support the motion.
‘Financial crime has the dubious reputation of being very lucrative,’ says Opstelten. It is also seen as a victimless crime.
According to the minister, companies are not frightened off by the present relatively low maximum fine of €780,000.