Some two-thirds of the money which ‘disappeared’ in a major construction sector fraud has been paid back by suspects through out of court settlements, the public prosecution department has told Nos television.

The trial of 14 people connected to the fraud will continue on Friday. In total, 50 people were suspected of being involved and 25 have reached out-of-court deals, involving the repayment of €135m.
Corruption and bribery involving the directors of the Philips pension fund and project developer Bouwfonds are thought to have cost their employers upwards of €200m.
The scandal came to light in 2007 when it emerged pension fund bosses had been taking bribes in return for passing on confidential information and had bought and sold property at below the market rates.
They were helped in this by bankers, architects, lawyers, estate agents and tax advisors, Nos says. The fraud had been under way since at least 1995.

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Massive property development fraud case comes to trial at last