A fruit trader who made millions of euros through a scheme to avoid paying premiums and taxes on staff wages has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence by a court in Den Bosch.

Theo van K bought up large amounts of strawberries, asparagus, raspberries and mushrooms at dozens of big fruit growers before they were harvested. He then brought in Polish workers to pick the fruit without paying the requisite premiums and taxes.

His company on Cyprus bought the fruit which was then sold by a company he owned in the Netherlands to supermarkets, among which Albert Heijn, allowing him to make a big profit.

The scheme, which ran from 2005, generated a turnover of some €300m and the profits were shared by the growers via accounts in Luxembourg.

Some 18 growers who benefited from the scheme have already been given non-custodial sentences. This is one of the the reasons, the judge said, that Van K did not have to go to jail. The length of time the case had taken to come to trial was another mitigating factor.

Van K was ordered to pay a €134,000 fine and do 240 hours of community service. The public prosecutor had asked for a five year jail term.

Van K commented earlier in the trial that he ‘had done nothing wrong but had helped the economy’. It is not clear if either he or the public prosecution department will appeal.