De link tussen luxe jachten, drugs en ons ministerie

This is a story about yachting, money laundering, tax evasion, drug trafficking... ...and dozens of Dutch sailors deceived... ...due to the policies of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure. These opened the door to organized crime. In Algeciras the authorities unloaded 35 tons of hashish. This is the largest Spanish drug seizure at sea of ​​all time. These are criminals. - Awful. They use your certificate. - 'Our'? Our clients are people with a sailboat, not criminal organizations. The government did not notify us. That's the problem. If you don't own a boat, you probably don't know. This document, issued by the Dutch Ministry of I&W... ...hides an unexpected world.

I had never heard of this. That changed one morning while filming on a test street in Weesp. The weather was bad. I spoke to a GP. He was complaining that his vacation on an Italian ship had been cancelled. "This is crown for you." He said: No, it's not that. The ship he was supposed to sail on is stopped. Your documents are not in order. She is one of several Dutch ships detained in Italy. Dutch yachts detained in Italy? That should be a good story, I thought. My colleague Luuk Mulder and I delved into the story and went to Italy.

For a year, Peter Franssen meticulously prepared his Mediterranean cruise. Everything was in order, he thought. His dream vacation is shipwrecked when an Italian patrol boat stops his boat. They wanted to check the documents. My navigation license, my VHF certificate and the boat registration. Our registry is an ICP registry. They said that was not valid. Were they sure? - That's what they told me. The document in question is the ICP: International Recreational Craft Certificate. It is issued on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of I&W... ...and is intended to give pleasure craft access to European waters and ports.

It is like a vehicle registration certificate. The Royal Dutch Watersportverbond issues around 6,000 ICPs per year. The main reason for us is the intrinsic function of the PCI. This means our members can also enjoy water recreation abroad... ...if they want a cheap price... Other forms of registration are more expensive. This product makes sailing abroad more attractive. Peter Franssen heard about more people with similar problems, including in his hometown. There are no global figures, but we hear about ships detained in Genoa... ...Sardinia, Livorno and Sicily. That's one of the Guardia di Finanza boats they use to check yachts.

That military unit works for the Ministry of Finance. In Italy they have the task of fighting organized crime. Hello. - Hello and welcome. Captain Aurelio Borghese heads the Guardia di Finanza in Formia. They stop the yachts of Peter Franssen and other Dutchmen. He explains the problem. Do I know this certificate? Yes, this is the problem. This is not... ...an officially recognized document. Watersportverbond is not recognized. The document is not officially recognized by the Netherlands. The Netherlands is not responsible for vessels registered as such. Borghese tells us that the problems with the PCI began two years ago.

It all started with a fight over this ship, Lifeline. Lifeline rescued African immigrants from the Mediterranean and brought them to Italy. The Italians would not tolerate it and stopped the ship. During the checks, the German captain showed the Dutch certificate. Because of the Dutch flag on the document, the Italians call The Hague... ...and say: We will not tolerate this. But the I&W Ministry tells the Italians... ...the ICP does not mean that the ship officially sails under the Dutch flag. The Dutch wash their hands. To avoid future diplomatic conflicts... ...the certificate is changed discreetly. Previously the certificate contained this. 'Flag: Dutch.' After the Lifeline incident... ...it no longer says "Dutch" after the flag, but rather "not applicable." This small change makes the difference between worry-free sailing... ...or weeks of detention in an Italian port.

We met with maritime law specialist Ynke Ooijkaas from Rotterdam. This document does not make a ship Dutch... ...nor does it have the right sanctioned by the UN Convention to fly the Dutch flag. The Netherlands will therefore not accept any responsibility in relation to the Convention. Then you are alone. Good luck. Is the Dutch government washing its hands of the PCI? Does that make the PCI meaningless? - It means very little. But the Ministry does not warn the owners of the change. If a flag causes confusion, remove it. Was it on the initiative of the Ministry... ...or yours? - I wouldn't know.

I had the document that I showed them and it says 'Flag: Dutch'. Was Franssen naïve or unprepared for his Mediterranean cruise? "No," the experts tell us. "The document he had is very confusing." It is even doubtful. It may seem correct and official... ...but it is actually quite useless. At that time we had a story: dozens of Dutch yachts detained in Italy... ...a dispute between our two countries... ...and a Ministry that quietly changed an official document. But we're not here yet. More on that in a moment. My colleague Luuk Mulder suddenly receives a document. It is an internal memorandum of the Guardia di Finanza.

It comes from one source, so we can't go into details. But he shows... ...that not only Dutch sailors use this Dutch certificate. Italians use it too. The Guardia di Finanza noticed that several people... ...including Italian citizens, began to fly the Dutch flag... ...to evade the Italian tax authorities. I meet the Italian navigator Lorenzo Salvatelli in the port of Formia. Talking about the PCI irritates him. In cases like this, it is always advisable to consult with the Dutch police. I call some old acquaintances and ask them about the PCI. Most of them don't know it. It is understandable that it is for foreign use.

But one source says: Have you ever heard of the MAOC? There was not. MAOC is an international police agency based in Lisbon... ...of which the Netherlands is a part. Day after day he fights drug trafficking... ...on the other side of the Atlantic. They are very familiar with the PCI. They run into it periodically. Like at the end of September... ...during the largest Spanish drug seizure at sea of ​​all time. Now we are effectively done here. The Atlantic last month. Spain has mounted a great operation. With helicopters, speedboats and special forces... ...they search for criminal organizations that use yachts to traffic

drugs

.

Successfully. In Algeciras the authorities unloaded 35 tons of hashish. This is the largest Spanish drug seizure at sea of ​​all time. More than 30 tons of hashish were seized... ...and several gang members were arrested. Carla is one of the yachts that the Spanish intercept. The luxury yacht is loaded with packages of hashish. She flies the Dutch flag. The ship or the crew were probably never in the Netherlands... ...but they are using Dutch documents. A spectacular robbery, but not isolated. The MAOC tells me that it regularly finds Dutch ICP on drug smuggling ships. We spoke to the Irish CEO of MAOC via Skype.

What began with complaints from a family doctor turned to tax evasion in Italy... ...and ends with international drug trafficking gangs. And at the center of all this is that single Dutch document. How can it be? We discovered that it appears that the certificate is marketed internationally. This brings us to a company in Leeuwarden... ...that calls itself a leading certificate application intermediary. I came over to see how they do it. Hello. This is the Netherlands yacht registry. - Yes. Come in. This is the ICP. This it is? - Yes, it is very popular. About 5% from the Netherlands and 95% from abroad.

Not only from the EU... ...but also from the Caribbean, the United States, Australia and more. You don't have to be Dutch to apply for a Dutch ICP... ...but you do have to live in the EU. But Korthuis also serves customers from outside the EU. I will start a European corporation as an Irish limited company. We then incorporated the ship into the corporation... ...which makes the European corporation its owner. This is how Russian, Chinese or American ships get Dutch registration. A good solution. Works? - Very good. To complete the registration, Korthuis will even register the boats at his own address.

How many boats are registered here? - There must be hundreds. In Leeuwarden? - In a residential area. You just need an address. We are not a party to the registry. Korthuis maintains that he does nothing wrong. Even when we showed him documents from the Guardia di Finanza that name his company. That's silly. Really is. Who are our clients? Our clients are people with a small sailboat, not criminal organizations. This is the Italian Treasury... - I know what the Guardia di Finanza is. Yes, but... I don't believe a word of it. Yacht owners from inside and outside the EU... ...use the Netherlands to register their boats.

That's why here in Leeuwarden hundreds of boats are registered at the same address. Meanwhile, Customs around the world take this document seriously. Also for the confidence that the Dutch flag inspires. But hundreds of boats registered at one address... ...shell companies to incorporate sailboats... It all smells of fraud. We take our conclusions to Watersportverbond, which publishes these PCIs. Is it theoretically possible for a Russian with a ship in Hong Kong... ...incorporated in Ireland to obtain a Dutch certificate on his part? Let's hope not. This is what we do. Is this allowed? - Sure, it's legal. I think it would be possible.

But then how can you attest to it? - I don't want to. But you emit them. - Not in cases like this. We have specific cases like this. - They are not intended for cases like this. But you do emit them. - No. We cannot check everything in the current process. It is Mr. Korthuis's bread and butter. - That's bad. It should not be like that. Several yachts were intercepted by helicopters and the like. Those yachts were loaded with hashish. Some of them used their PCI. - I don't know anything about that. Never heard of that? - No, that really surprises me.

He does it. These are criminals. - Awful. They use your certificate. - 'Our'? You emit them. - Yes, and I'm surprised to hear this. Is your association capable of unmasking international drug trafficking gangs... ...when they capture your ICP? - I think the answer is clear. Can you still continue issuing ICP? - That's what I'm telling you. If we cannot avoid this clash of interests, we should stop issuing them. Another factor at play is that recreational boats are currently exempt from taxes. You don't even pay taxes on a boat worth half a million euros. Boat owners fear that good registration... ...will make it easier for the taxman to find them, putting an end to their tax-free fun.

Not only in the Mediterranean or the Atlantic but also here... ...the PCI causes problems. Here criminals use it... ...to cover up robberies, for example. The yacht is stolen. The owner loses his yacht to the thief. The thief requests an ICP in his own name or in the name of his fence. And the fence resells the boat. And the original owner has nothing. -It will be difficult to prove ownership of it. When you steal a boat in Spain or Greece... ...you can register it in the Netherlands. The Ministry of I&W tells us they listened to the police's warnings.

They say they are tightening the rules for PCI applications. Drug trafficking, tax evasion, money laundering... ...all thanks to this Dutch document. You've already heard most of the story. But how did it all end for Peter Franssen? Not well, I'm afraid. He spent half of his gap year detained in Italy. He spent thousands of euros on new documents and legal defense for him in Italy. The court has yet to decide whether he is guilty and will impose huge fines. We base our story on sources and documents. We have compiled them for you. You will find them when you click the

link

below.

Did you like this story? Then like and subscribe to our channel. Health.