The €18bn Philips Pensioenfonds is claiming €6.4m in damages from property tycoon Harry Muermans in the wake of the property fraud that affected the fund, financial daily Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) has reported.
In order to secure its claim, three private residential properties owned by the Roermond-based developer have been seized, the paper’s own research revealed.
A spokesman for Philips would only confirm that property had been seized, but declined to provide further details.
The seizure suggests that the scale of suspected involvement of Muermans was much larger than previously assumed, concluded the FD.
It had already become clear that the property tycoon had received approximately €1.8m from the – allegedly corrupt – property project Eurocenter in Amsterdam.
According to the FD, the property seizure shows that Philips has serious intent to sue the developer.
The paper quoted a spokesman who said the public prosecutor wanted to issue a summons against Muermans.
According to defence lawyer Hans Peek, Muermans is in negotiations for a settlement.
The FD said that Muermans’ property company had posted losses of €67m in 2013.
The Philips pension fund lost approximately €150m to the property fraud, which was discovered in 2007.
