A former Noord-Holland provincial councillor for the right-wing VVD has been jailed for three years for bribery and fraud.

Ton Hooijmaijers, 52, was planning chief in the province from 2005 to 2009 and is said to have channelled payments through an advice bureau he set up in 2001.

The court ruled that Hooijmaijers had accepted money from 10 different companies in return for preferential treatment. The cash was channelled through a company owned by his wife and a friendly estate agent, Nos television reported.

During the trial, Hooimaijers admitted receiving money but said it was for advisory services.

Appeal

The three-year sentence is lower than that demanded by the prosecution department, but reflects the fact he was found not guilty of money laundering and the considerable publicity surrounding the case, the court said. Hooimaijers said immediately he will appeal.

His wife Jocelyn P, who faced 240 hours community service for helping him, was found not guilty.

Investigation

The investigation into Hooijmaijers took over three years and began with a raid on his home and several other addresses in 2010. He was in charge of planning and finance while a provincial council official.

Hooijmaijers lost his Noord-Holland job in 2009 in the wake of the collapse of Icelandic bank Icesave. He was partly responsible for the council’s decision to put €78m into the internet bank.

In September 2009 he also got into trouble after it emerged he had spent thousands of euros on the council’s credit card but had no receipts.