Multi founder investigated for alleged tax evasion

Hans van Veggel, the founder and chairman of European retail developer Multi Corporation, is being investigated by the Dutch authorities for alleged multi-million euro tax evasion. Van Veggel denies any wrongdoing, while Multi said it was a purely private matter in which it is not involved.

The Dutch prosecution department announced that the tax office's investigation unit FIOD has launched an international investigation into a real estate professional and seized millions of euros worth of assets.

The unnamed individual, the prosecution department said, was suspected of defrauding the tax authorities, failing to provide information to the tax office, forgery and laundering of millions of euros.

'The total loss to the exchequer is estimated at over €25 mln,' according to an official statement.

The prosecution department said that it was suspected the person in question had tried to conceal 'several tens of millions' of profit in 2006 from a real estate deal by using a trust fund vehicle located in Curaçao, a Caribbean island which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Van Veggel issued his own statement confirming he was the subject of the investigation but he denied any criminal wrongdoing. 'There exists a difference of opinion with the tax department about the manner in which a particular transaction carried out in 2003 should be treated for tax purposes. There have been ongoing normal consultations with a tax inspector in relation to this difference of opinion.'

Van Veggel said he and his advisers had rendered all cooperation - both asked and unasked - to the tax official handling the issue. 'Given this constructive dialogue, and the fact that this is a tax disagreement, we are unpleasantly surprised by the intervention of the public prosecutor and the direction this matter has taken,’ he said.

The prosecution department revealed in its announcement that FIOD officials carried out searches at four business premises and a home in the Netherlands, as well as the office of trust on Curaçao. Files and €200,000 in cash were confiscated. Officials also took control of bank accounts, funds and art to seize 'suspected criminal assets'.

De Telegraaf - the largest selling newspaper in the Netherlands - cited unnamed sources on Thursday as saying that the locations searched included Multi's headquarters in the Dutch city of Gouda and Van Veggel's estate in the upmarket Wassenaar suburb of The Hague.

Contacted by PropertyNL - PropertyEU's sister publication, Multi Corporation said the issue was a purely private matter in which the company was not involved. A spokesperson referred back to Van Veggel's statement and the PR agency which issued the statement to the media on his behalf.

The news of the tax investigation comes as US private equity firm Blackstone prepares the groundwork for a takeover of Multi Corporation. After months of speculation about Blackstone’s intentions, it emerged recently that Blackstone has notified the European Commission of its proposed takeover plans.

Blackstone had no comment on the investigation into Van Veggel.

But van Veggel statement said it was regrettable that the prosecutor’s office wrongly suspected criminal activity. ‘We also regret the prosecutor has unilaterally sought publicity for this matter. This causes Van Veggel, the companies in which he is involved and their employees unnecessary damage.’