The Netherlands: Three conspiracy theorists/activists have their bank accounts blocked

Palinurus

Palinurus

The Living Force
Source (Dutch only): Bodegraven legt beslag op bankrekening drie complotdenkers

Bodegraven seizes bank account of three conspiracy theorists

ANP - 4 hours ago

BODEGRAVEN (ANP) - The municipality of Bodegraven-Reeuwijk has had the bank accounts of three people known as conspiracy theorists seized. On Friday the court ruled that the three men must immediately stop with their accusatory stories about alleged pedo networks and ritualistic child murders.

The three men, Micha Kat, Joost Knevel and Wouter Raatgever, were ordered by the judge to remove the already published stories from the Internet, otherwise the municipality could demand penalty payments and if necessary take the men hostage. The seizure of the bank accounts, according to a spokesman of the municipality, is separate from the question of whether the contested stories have been or will be removed from the Internet. That, he says, has not yet happened.

In a statement issued Monday, the municipality said it will recover damages from the three involved and focus on further enforcement of the judgment. One of the three men was a resident of the municipality, but no longer lives there. "The municipality notes that with this verdict, the judge has made it clear that freedom of expression should not lead to arbitrary suspicions and disturbances of public order."

Disrupting

According to the judge, there is "no objective evidence for the far-reaching allegations about a satanic-pedophile network in Bodegraven." The conspiracy theories spread by the men have been causing unrest in the South Holland village for months. Earlier this year, dozens of people came to the Vredehof cemetery to leave flowers and pamphlets on children's graves. Relatives were angry and sad about this. The municipality condemned the disturbance of the grave peace.

On Monday, mayor Christiaan van der Kamp called it "an important step to ensure that the municipality can stop the grief and the damage that is done to people. It is nice that we now have the means to ensure that there is tranquility for residents who have been besieged for far too long." According to him, the municipality will start recovering all damages it has suffered from the three individuals.

Raatgever was sentenced in June to nine months in prison, three of which were suspended, for making inflammatory and threatening videos. These were directed at the municipality of Bodegraven-Reeuwijk, the municipality's lawyer and [Covid] RIVM director Jaap van Dissel, among others.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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UPDATE: Extradition decision for conspiracy theorist Micha K set for September - DutchNews.nl

Extradition decision for conspiracy theorist Micha K set for September​

August 6, 2021

A Northern Ireland court will decide in September whether to extradite conspiracy theorist Micha Kat, who is wanted in the Netherlands for inciting violence.

Kat is currently living in Northern Ireland and will learn on September 3 if he will be sent to the Netherlands for trial, a spokesperson for the public prosecution service has confirmed to DutchNews.nl.

The 58-year-old is facing criminal charges for encouraging violent threats against RIVM chief Jaap van Dissel and Bodegraven-Reeuwijk mayor Christiaan van der Kamp as well as others.

In particular Kat claims that many prominent members of the Dutch government, as well as journalists and others, are involved in pedophile networks and ritual child sacrifice.

Described by the Volkskrant as the ‘uncrowned king of the madhouse,’ Kat has previously been convicted of making bomb threats, vandalism and slander, including threatening the editor-in-chief of the Dutch public broadcaster NOS and a journalist for De Telegraaf.

The city of Bodegraven-Reeuwijk brought legal action against Kat earlier this year, for spreading the lie that children buried in a local cemetery were the victims of ritualist Satanic murder. The town cemetery was overwhelmed with flowers laid by conspiracy theorists, upsetting the relatives of children who are buried there, and threats were made against city officials.
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UPDATE: Dutch conspiracy theorist Joost Knevel arrested in Spain - DutchNews.nl

Dutch conspiracy theorist Joost Knevel arrested in Spain​

August 13, 2021

Joost Knevel, the third ringleader of a group of conspiracy theorists making wild claims about the western Dutch town of Bodegraven, has been arrested in Spain, the public prosecution service has confirmed to DutchNews.nl.

Together with Micha Kat and Wouter Raatgever, the trio made repeated posts on social media claiming that the town’s mayor Christiaan van der Kamp and RIVM chief Jaap van Dissel were operating a pedophile network and committing ritual child sacrifice.

The 43-year-old was picked up during a routine check. He has been living in Spain with his wife and children and, until Thursday, had evaded authorities. He was wanted in the Netherlands on charges of inciting violence.

Knevel, who was born in Bodegraven, claims to have recovered memories of witnessing children being murdered in the town and of being sexually abused by van Dissel.

In July, a judge ruled that the three had to immediately stop posting lies about the city on their social media and delete any existing posts within 48 hours. ‘There is no objective evidence whatsoever for the far-reaching allegations, which are causing a lot of unrest among citizens,’ the District Court of the Hague said in a statement.

Kat was arrested in Northern Ireland in July and he is now awaiting the outcome of an extradition procedure. Raatgever was sentenced to nine months in jail in June for distributing inflammatory videos.
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Source: Corona sceptics have problems with banking: NRC - DutchNews.nl

Corona skeptics have problems with banking: NRC​

August 18, 2021

Banks have been taking action on accounts linked with groups deemed to be spreading misinformation about the corona virus and vaccinations, according to an investigation by the NRC [newspaper] (in Dutch).

It claims that at least eight organizations have been put on a watch list or have had their accounts stopped, including the protest group Viruswaarheid and evangelist Jaap Dieleman.

The measure is seen as part of the banks’ duties to combat extremism and ‘dangerous’ messaging, claims the NRC.

The organizations taking action on the subject reportedly include the ING, Triodos Bank, Rabobank and payment platform Mollie.

However, some banking experts told the NRC that banks can refuse a [new] client but need to properly substantiate any measure to block banking facilities.

Earlier this year, a court ruled that ING needed to give the founder of Viruswaarheid access back to his account for four months.

The bank had stopped the account, citing concerns about payments of €50,000 for a piece of land in Spain, which appeared to have been funded by donations made by the group’s supporters.

But the court ruled there was no concrete evidence of money laundering or criminal activities, and account holder Willem Engel said the payment was a guaranteed loan that had been repaid.

A spokesman for the Rabobank told DutchNews.nl that it does have a policy on the matter, but treats examples individually. ‘It is possible that there would be disruptive consequences for society if people are spreading misinformation but freedom of speech is also important and we look at the policy on a case-by-case basis,’ he said.

A spokesman for Triodos said the bank does not discuss individual circumstances, but also makes decisions on a case-by-case basis. ‘Beliefs and opinions do not in themselves constitute grounds for rejecting an application,’ he added. ‘Within the framework of our criteria and legal obligations, we always consider several aspects.’
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Other coverage in Dutch:
Banken weren organisaties van coronacritici, omvang niet duidelijk
geenstijl.nl/5160630/nu-ook-onderdeel-van-de-censuurmachine-banken/
 
GreyCat said:
This is just sick. What do banks have with public messages and similar? Nothing. A "duty?" What a load of BS.
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You would be surprised to know what has been made possible in the Netherlands nowadays to combat extremism of all sorts, terrorism included. Just an example from within the banks themselves:

Banks and insurers can share personal details to prevent fraud: AP - DutchNews.nl
Dutch banks get green light to share information on fraudsters with each other

And that's only to protect themselves.

As a general rule enshrined into law, banks have to report to the government any and all 'suspicious' transactions they have knowledge of, especially when those transactions involve large amounts of cash. Recently, some major banks have even been reprimanded and fined for negligence on this point.
 
To underline my point even further the following news item:

Hulporganisaties kunnen moeilijk geld overmaken door anti-terrorismeregels

NOS News - Domestic - today, 15:06
Aid organizations have difficulty transferring money due to anti-terrorism rules

Joost Schellevis -editor Tech

Aid organizations are troubled by strict rules that must prevent terrorist financing, among other things. This appears from a round-up by the NOS.

If they want to transfer money to staff, departments or cooperating organizations in areas where they provide aid, often conflict areas, anti-terrorism rules come into play. Payments are therefore delayed or do not even arrive, and in extreme cases a bank can put the organization on hold.

"When money comes in is very unpredictable," says Marjanne van Vliet in Syria, where she organizes emergency aid for the Christian relief organization ZOA. She depends on money from the parent organization in the Netherlands.

Problems are also to be expected with emergency aid in Afghanistan, especially after the Taliban seized power: money intended for projects in Afghanistan must not end up in the wrong hands, for example, but that is difficult to rule out completely

Increasingly cautious

Banks are becoming increasingly cautious as a result of stricter legislation and the fear of fines, say parties involved within both banks and aid organizations. This is by no means exclusively a Dutch problem: policy in other European countries is also strict, and the American fines are notorious.

In any case, it takes weeks for money to arrive, but it can also be months, and sometimes it is not even possible to transfer money at all. Also, aid organizations regularly have to re-explain what they are doing and why they need to transfer the money.

"
People have to wait longer for help, while we help in emergency situations.
Marjanne van Vliet, ZOA

Apart from the paperwork involved, this has consequences for projects. "People we want to help then have to wait longer for our help, while we are helping in emergency situations," says Van Vliet.

The organization needs the money, for example, to provide people in an emergency situation with money or to buy goods locally. "We do that locally as much as possible, also to stimulate the economy over here."

The organization was even forced to find another bank. The organization's original bank said it thought the work was very important, but still asked ZOA to find another bank.

Sanctions lists and legislation

The Dutch Banking Association recognizes the stories. "But banks also have to comply with a lot of rules," says Yvonne Willemsen, head of security affairs at the NVB [=DBA]. If they don't, they get "big fat fines," Willemsen emphasizes.

Banks must rule out money inadvertently ending up with terrorists or people on sanction lists. "In some countries it is difficult to rule that out, because people on the blacklist are very much intertwined with the society there," says Willemsen.

One year of paperwork

The problems are greatest for smaller and new aid organizations. "For larger aid organizations, there has been some improvement in recent years," says Lia van Broekhoven of the Human Security Collective, where she helps aid organizations with banking problems.

Together with women's rights organization WO=MEN, Van Broekhoven conducted research on the problem in 2019, which was also an issue at the time. Little has improved for small aid organizations since then.

Inemarie Dekker, who set up the aid organization Impact Direct Foundation, can relate. "I've spent a year doing all the paperwork and I haven't been able to take care of everything," she says. "For example, we are not yet able to collect donations automatically."

Some larger organizations are also suffering. A well-known Dutch aid organization with hundreds of employees says it is experiencing a lot of hindrance. And ZOA is no small organization either, with a thousand employees worldwide.

Other aid organizations such as Stichting Vluchteling and PAX are less affected by the problems themselves, but work together with smaller aid organizations that do encounter problems.

Syria

Among other things, banks are bound by sanction lists, which prohibit much payment traffic to countries such as Syria. Emergency aid is excluded from these, but banks have to know whether it is really emergency aid.

In addition, banks must be on the lookout for unusual transactions that may indicate terrorism financing. And before someone closes a bank account, a bank has to assess whether someone is up to no good.

On top of that, payments to Syria, for example, do not go directly. A Dutch bank can use the services of another bank to send the payment to the Middle East, after which a bank there sends the payment on again. "And that route can be different every time," says Chris Lukkien, ZOA's executive director. Each of those banks is afraid of fines, and so may ask additional questions.

"We've become a little more adept at it by now," says Lukkien. "For example, we sponsored a project with water tanks, but then of course you have to avoid the word 'tank'."

More careful

Sometimes aid organizations send people across the border with envelopes of money if a payment does not arrive again. A Dutch aid organization also considered this at one point. The director, who does not want to be associated with this plan for security reasons: "But of course that is not the intention."

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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Ina said:
A 'sanitary' duty. Keep the political space 'clean'.
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Oy, I wish it were that simple but it isn't. :wow:

It all started with the Panama Papers in 2017 or thereabouts which were about money laundering, tax havens, letterbox firms, financing of terrorism, and all sorts of other semi-legal or plainly illegal practices; within the context of a global financial war between major commercial banks, finance banks, other major financial institutions, central banks, and international regulators, overarched by the push for globalization, regulation and global control of everything imaginable.

When you do a search both on the forum and on Sott for Panama Papers you will find multiple links from all sides of the spectrum to gain the necessary background info.

Source (Dutch only): Duizenden werken bij banken aan opsporen terreurfinanciering, 'blijft heel lastig'

NOS News - Domestic -Tech - today, 07:46 AM
Thousands work at banks to detect terror financing, 'remains very difficult'

Joost Schellevis - editor Tech

Emergency aid organizations are troubled by, among other things, the strict anti-terrorism rules, the NOS reported yesterday [see above]. Those rules should prevent financing of, for example, terror groups. At the same time, experts question the usefulness of those strict rules.

Every day banks scrutinize all transactions of all their customers, looking for unusual transactions that could indicate the financing of terrorism.

In practice, however, it rarely happens that a terrorist financing case comes to a conclusion as a result, says Tasniem Anwar, a researcher at the University of Amsterdam. She actively monitors statements about terrorist financing.

"Often these involve people transferring money to family members who have traveled to IS territory," Anwar says. "But transferring money to IS territory is usually not done with a transaction from one bank to another." So often the police find out about these cases by other means.

Legions of investigators

Banks and other financial institutions are legally obliged to look for unusual transactions themselves and to report them to the government. The government can then conduct further investigations into these transactions. This obligation applies not only to terrorism financing but also to suspicions of money laundering.

Banks have deployed large armies of investigators for this purpose. In the Netherlands there are at least 8,000, but possibly more. At ING [bank] alone there are 4000 investigators working on the prevention of terrorism financing or money laundering; more than there are police officers in the Netherlands. The Rabobank has 4500, but that is worldwide.

Tips from banks end up at the Financial Intelligence Unit. In 2020, banks together did so some 725,000 times, including money laundering. Of those, 4,500 were eventually labeled as actually suspected in connection with terrorism.

Attack prevented?

It is difficult to say in how many cases an attack was prevented. The Public Prosecutor's Office points to 23 court rulings in which there was terrorist financing and a tip from a bank played a role, but the size of that role can vary.

UvA researcher Anwar knows of about 30 cases since 2017. "But most of those cases probably did not come about after a bank tip."

Cases may also have been used, for example, to keep an extra eye on certain people, the prosecution argues, or for other 'intelligence purposes.'
"
You can also fund an attack with your student grant, salary or benefits.
Esmé Bosma, University of Amsterdam

What all concerned agree on: it is incredibly difficult to detect terrorist financing. After all, the amounts involved are low; committing a terrorist attack is not necessarily expensive.

"It is very difficult to detect a dubious transaction among millions of daily bank transactions," says UvA researcher Esmé Bosma. She specifically researches the prevention of terrorist financing with tips from banks.

Moreover, the amounts involved are often small. "And you don't need 'criminal' money at all. You can also finance an attack with your student grant, salary or benefits," says Bosma. Tracing suspicious transactions is therefore not enough to track down the person with suspicious intentions.

Needle in a haystack

The Dutch Banking Association also sees this: in a 2017 document, the bank talks about "looking for a needle in a haystack."

That's why the banks have started a task force on terrorism financing, a spokesperson for the Dutch Banking Association says. Specially appointed analysts are given more information than usual, which enables them to conduct more targeted research.

Banks are also looking at all kinds of ways to improve the detection of unusual transactions. For example, they are considering artificial intelligence, says researcher Bosma. In doing so, they look for example for characteristics of known suspects, and let the algorithms search for similar cases.

"But in the case of terrorist financing, there are so few known cases for a bank that it is not really possible to make a good profile of an offender." And that makes automated searches difficult.

Security task for banks?

"Moreover, you can question whether it is up to banks to take on this public safety task," says Marieke de Goede, also of the University of Amsterdam. "Banks now decide what is suspicious or not, and that is a task that traditionally fell naturally to the government."

There is also the risk that banks will exclude customers who pose too much risk, De Goede argues. "In other countries, including the United Kingdom, this is already increasing. And also in the Netherlands you already notice this, for example with aid organizations."

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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On a personal note, not too long ago I made a withdrawal of a substantial sum of money from one of my saving accounts elsewhere to my main bank account, in order to then divert it further to another saving account somewhere else.

Just a few days later, I received a letter from the latter bank with the request (under threat of immediate report to the proper authorities) to duely clarify whether that money was really mine and how I got hold of it, and they asked for written (copied) proof of that as well.

So, this really isn't small potatoes anymore.

Related (Dutch only): Kabinet laat verbod op trustkantoren onderzoeken

NOS News - Politics - Economics - today, 10:14 AM
Cabinet to investigate ban on trust offices

There may be so many things going wrong in the trust sector that it needs to be investigated whether these services should be banned altogether in the Netherlands. This is what Minister of Finance Hoekstra writes in a letter to the House of Representatives, reports Het Financieele Dagblad [behind paywall].

The letter was sent in July, but until now there had been little coverage, according to the newspaper. Hoekstra sent the letter after he commissioned research agency SEO to investigate illegal trust services in the Netherlands.

A trust office supplies various financial services for companies. For example, it can do the administration, but also provide a letterbox company with an office address, and it can deliver tax benefits to the company for which it provides the services.

A firm does need a license to provide these services in the Netherlands. Without such a license, it is therefore acting illegally.

Part of offices operate illegally

Since the beginning of 2019, the rules for trust offices have been tightened, and supervision has become stricter. Since then, there are fewer and fewer licensed trust offices and supervisors are seeing more signs of illegal services, which prompted an investigation into the sector, according to SEO.

Among other things, the agency estimated the size of the "potentially illegal trust sector." SEO estimates that almost 1 in 3 people who provide trust services do so without a license.

However, the agency also states that the percentage is probably lower in reality, because it was not able to count all legal trustees. In addition, according to the agency, the unlicensed firms work for a smaller group of companies than the licensed firms and therefore "only" 15 percent of the work itself is done through an unlicensed executive.

'Disturbing'

"These estimates show that the potential share of illegality in the trust sector is substantial," Hoekstra said in his letter. "I find this disturbing and highly undesirable, because these parties are actively trying to stay out of the sight of regulators, it increases the integrity risks for the financial system, and there is unfair competition with parties that are licensed and supervised."

The minister also cites "problems from the past." For example, Dutch trust offices were involved in tax avoidance, tax evasion and money laundering, as was also revealed after the disclosures from the Panama Papers.

According to the minister, it is these bad experiences, but also the experiences of the regulator and the estimates from the SEO study, that make him wonder "whether the integrity of trust services can be sufficiently guaranteed".

It provides sufficient reason for him to consider banning the entire sector. "I want this question examined in a broader context and will also include the economic advantages and disadvantages of banning these services." Any decision on a ban, he leaves to the next cabinet.
"
If you delete the regulated sector, where does it go? Then it becomes completely illegal.
Martin Wörsdörfer - chairman trust sector association Holland Quaestor

Martin Wörsdörfer, chairman of trust sector association Holland Quaestor calls it "hearteningly good" that research is being carried out into how illegal practices can be countered. "That's something we want to help with, also as a sector."

At the same time, he does not think that the illegally operating executives and offices are part of the trust sector, because they do not have a license. "That doesn't fall under us."

That the minister wants to find out what the advantages and disadvantages of a ban on trust services are, he considers "a strange point in the letter". It won't help, according to him. "If you delete the regulated sector, where does it go? Then it becomes completely illegal."

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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Palinurus said:
Oy, I wish it were that simple but it isn't. :wow:

It all started with the Panama Papers in 2017 or thereabouts which were about money laundering, tax havens, letterbox firms, financing of terrorism, and all sorts of other semi-legal or plainly illegal practices; within the context of a global financial war between major commercial banks, finance banks, other major financial institutions, central banks, and international regulators, overarched by the push for globalization, regulation and global control of everything imaginable.

When you do a search both on the forum and on Sott for Panama Papers you will find multiple links from all sides of the spectrum to gain the necessary background info.

Source (Dutch only): Duizenden werken bij banken aan opsporen terreurfinanciering, 'blijft heel lastig'



On a personal note, not too long ago I made a withdrawal of a substantial sum of money from one of my saving accounts elsewhere to my main bank account, in order to then divert it further to another saving account somewhere else.

Just a few days later, I received a letter from the latter bank with the request (under threat of immediate report to the proper authorities) to duely clarify whether that money was really mine and how I got hold of it, and they asked for written (copied) proof of that as well.

So, this really isn't small potatoes anymore.

Related (Dutch only): Kabinet laat verbod op trustkantoren onderzoeken
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So sorry to hear! That is banking trorism. If I were you I would close all my accounts with that bank. Actually even better, find a bank that you like, transfer all your banking from the harassing bankand then close all your accounts for the reason of gratuitous harrasment.
 
Ina said:
So sorry to hear! That is banking trorism. If I were you I would close all my accounts with that bank. Actually even better, find a bank that you like, transfer all your banking from the harassing bankand then close all your accounts for the reason of gratuitous harrasment.
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This is possible but it wouldn't accomplish anything anymore since ALL banks and financial institutions are bound by law to 'harass' their clients in case of 'suspicious' transactions - to the discretion of the banks first and foremost, although under 'guidance' of the proper legal financial and political authorities.

This rabbit hole goes much deeper than you apparently realize, I'm afraid. At least in the Netherlands now - and very soon worldwide coming to a bank near you.
 
UPDATE (Dutch only): Complotdenker Joost K. door Spanje overgeleverd om bedreiging Van Dissel

NOS News - Domestic -Foreign - today, 19:01
Conspiracy theorist Joost K. extradited by Spain for threatening Van Dissel

Conspiracy theorist Joost K. has been handed over to the Netherlands by Spain. The military police picked him up, the Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed. He is one of the three presenters of the online channel Red Pill Journal and is suspected of threatening public figures, such as outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte and RIVM boss Jaap van Dissel.

K. is due to stand trial in The Hague. He is expected to be brought before the examining magistrate later this week who will then decide whether he should remain in custody.

Earlier this month the conspiracy theorist was arrested in Spain after a search. He had been in hiding for months in the east of the country. A European arrest warrant had been issued against K.

K. is suspected of, among other things, threatening and inciting to violence. K. said about Van Dissel: "He who gives him his well-deserved shot in the neck, is a hero". And about Rutte he said: "We should actually chase him into the sea or wherever". He also posted an edited video in which Rutte and Van Dissel, among others, were supposedly hung with a noose around their necks.

Companions

So far, only Wouter R. has been convicted. He is the chief editor of the Red Pill Journal and received a nine-month prison sentence at the end of June, three of which were suspended. R. was convicted of distributing inflammatory and threatening videos, which were about Van Dissel and the lawyer of the municipality of Bodegraven-Reeuwijk, among others.

<video 10:12 min. in Dutch with Dutch subtitles only omitted>

Late last month, the third man from the channel, publicist Micha K., was arrested (in Dutch) in Northern Ireland. His extradition will be determined in early September.

The statements made by the three men about victims of alleged child abuse led earlier this year to crowds of supporters flooding (in Dutch) the cemetery in Bodegraven with bouquets and messages. The municipality then felt compelled to issue an emergency ordinance (in Dutch) and take legal action (in Dutch).

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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Thanks for posting all these Palinurus. The whole 'bodegraven' fiasco smells a lot like a false conspiracy to me, to lead people astray. I feel they needed to introduce it to deflect a lot of the conspiracy crowd's interest in the shadowy government towards this trap. Timing is convenient too.
 
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