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Holland: new crime laws

01 January 1991

Holland: new crime laws
artdoc April=1992

Banks and other Dutch financial institutions will become obliged
to report `unusual financial transactions' above dfl. 25,000 to
the Ministry of Justice. This has been laid down in a bill which
also gives several examples of such transactions: depositing
large sums of money in small denominations or foreign currency,
presenting the money uncounted or in a shoe- box or suitcase, and
the repeated depositing of money in a bank where one has no
account. The reporting obligation is considered an essential
element of the battle against the drugs trade and other serious
crimes. Customers are expected to identify themselves for all
transactions exceeding dfl. 25,000. Ten extra officers of the CRI
will be assigned to monitor these transactions. This Dutch bill
is more rigid than the EC-guidelines: where the EC asks for
voluntary cooperation of banks, the Dutch government makes the
reporting mandatory. Also the EC only proposes to monitor
transactions over 15,000 ECU, which is approx. dfl. 35,000.

Bill proposed on group criminality
The Dutch Ministry of Justice wants to penalize the presence of
individuals at public order disturbances, such as squatting
actions and riots. It will become an offense to `be consciously
present near a public order disturbance by not leaving the area
and being on the site on purpose.' The bill is inspired by the
virtual demolition of a train by a group of soccer hooligans and
the acquittal on appeal of squatters who inflicted heavy damage
during an eviction in Groningen in 1990.

Statewatch Vol 2 No 2 March/April 1992