# Arnhem-Leeuwarden appeal court tells prosecutors to add documents to Van Eerd file

> The court of appeal in Arnhem-Leeuwarden has ordered the Public Prosecution Service to add documents to the case file within three months and will hear three witnesses at the defence's request.

Economy · published 2026-10-15 05:12 · https://nlnow.nl/a/court-allows-further-investigation-in-case-against-ex-jumbo-boss-van-eerd/

The court of appeal (gerechtshof) in Arnhem-Leeuwarden ruled on Wednesday that extra documents must be added to the case file and witnesses heard in the appeal of Frits van Eerd, the former boss of supermarket chain Jumbo. The court will hear three witnesses at the request of the defence.

The Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) must add a number of documents to the case file within three months. The court has not yet made a final decision on a fourth witness, as it first needs more information. The court will also hear car dealer E., seen as the main suspect in the investigation known as 'Hille', on its own initiative in the cases against Van Eerd and co-suspect H.

Last year the district court convicted Van Eerd of bribery, money laundering and forgery (valsheid in geschrifte) and sentenced him to two years in prison. It found that he received money, goods and services from co-suspects over several years. Van Eerd denies any criminal conduct and appealed straight away. He and his lawyers say the case concerns relationships and favours between acquaintances, not bribery, and they dispute the money laundering charge.

At a procedural hearing last month, the defence argued that important documents were missing from the case file. Its lawyers said not all documents gathered during the investigation had been included. They also asked for more witnesses and for a closer look at where certain information in the investigation came from. The court granted some of those requests.

Documents must also be added and witnesses heard in the cases against main suspect E. and co-suspect H.

The court also gave a final ruling on Wednesday in the separate case against co-suspect T., a mortgage broker. It convicted T. of forgery and fined T. €5,000. The district court had earlier given T. sixty hours of community service, part of it suspended.

## Background

- **gerechtshof**: The court of appeal (gerechtshof) is the Dutch court that hears appeals against judgments of the district courts (rechtbanken), in both criminal and civil cases. It can re-examine the facts and the law of a case and can order additional investigation. The Netherlands has four courts of appeal, each covering a regional area.
- **Jumbo**: Jumbo is a Dutch supermarket chain, operated by Jumbo Supermarkten B.V. and headquartered in Veghel, in the province of North Brabant. It is one of the main supermarket chains in the Netherlands, alongside Albert Heijn. Jumbo is a private company, not a public institution.
- **OM (Openbaar Ministerie)**: The Public Prosecution Service, which decides whether suspects are prosecuted and brings criminal cases to court.

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