Should Van Eerd go to jail immediately and why did he receive this sentence?

By RTL Z · 46 minutes ago · Amended: 1 minute ago

The Public Prosecution Service had requested a 24-month prison sentence, eight months of which were suspended. However, the judge imposed a 24-month sentence, so no suspended sentence. The time Van Eerd spent in pretrial detention, almost a week, will be deducted from this sentence.

While the court noted that he had no criminal record, it also noted that he had been warned, as he already knew in 2014 that co-defendant Theo E. was involved in illegal activities, explains press judge Sabine Timmermans. This also contributed to his receiving a harsher sentence than was requested.

The court saw no reason for a conditional sentence, because the judges have no confidence that Van Eerd will change his behavior by making part of the sentence conditional, says Timmermans.

When sentencing Van Eerd, the judge looked at comparable cases and this is what he came to, she says.

If the verdict isn't appealed within two weeks, he could go straight to prison. But that usually takes a while, says Timmermans. Meanwhile, Robbert Jonk, Van Eerd's lawyer, has said there's a "very high chance" he'll appeal.

No, there's no special treatment for wealthy people. He'll be sent to a standard prison, where all sorts of criminals are held, says Timmermans.

The judge stated that it was particularly important that Van Eerd set an example as Jumbo's CEO. He also consciously associated with serious criminals and had links to serious organized crime, in which he was involved for years, says Timmermans.

Jumbo's code of conduct was important because Van Eerd was previously at the helm of Jumbo, and he championed its implementation. It's therefore particularly heartbreaking to see what he's now being convicted for, says Timmermans.

It's important that it involved a large amount of cash, but the discovery of a plastic Jumbo bag in the refrigerator and envelopes containing money among books in the bookcase was also very relevant to Van Eerd's conviction, she says, because it indicates the money wasn't from an honest source.

If you feel the need to hide money in your refrigerator or in envelopes in books, then there is already a kind of suspicion that you are involved in something that is not entirely fresh, Timmermans explains.

The fact that many €500 and €200 notes were found also plays a role, she says. Normally, you never have those notes, but he did.

Numerous witnesses were heard, but the court ruled that there was something wrong with them, that their testimony was unreliable, or that those witnesses had demonstrably given false statements. So that didn't explain the origin of the cash found. The court essentially dismissed Van Eerd's entire defense, says Timmermans.

Watch this video to see what preceded the verdict in the criminal case against Van Eerd: