F – 13 | THE DAMEN SHIPYARDS CASE CURRENTLY IN THE DUTCH COURTS (NOVEMBER 2025)
The Damen Shipyards case now before the Dutch courts is a large, long-running corruption and sanctions matter with a very direct Curaçao angle. I wanted to know more, so I decided to use AI to compile a summary based on publicly available court documentation and news media. This blog is the summary of all currently relevant publicly available information, I could find using a simple query with AI.
What the Dutch case is about
Who is on trial?
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) is prosecuting Damen Shipyards Gorinchem and Damen Naval Shipyards, plus several (former) top executives, for bribery, forgery, money laundering and violations of Russia sanctions. Openbaar Ministerie+1
Time period & scope
The alleged misconduct covers roughly 2006–2017 for the corruption/forgery part, and 2022 for the Russia-sanctions part. It relates to ship sales in Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean. Reuters+2RTL.nl+2
Current status (November 2025)
After an eight-year investigation that started with a raid on Damen’s HQ in 2017, the criminal trial opened in Zwolle on 24 November 2025. The first hearing is a regiezitting (procedural hearing) to set out the case and decide which further investigative steps and witnesses will be allowed. The court has scheduled the case to continue on 11 December 2025, and everyone expects a very long process. SWZ Maritime+2ZeelandNet+2
Why it’s so sensitive
Damen is the largest shipbuilder in the Netherlands and a key supplier to the Dutch Navy and other European defence customers. A conviction could lead to (temporary) exclusion from government contracts, which is why the case is seen as important not just for Damen but also for Dutch/European defence policy. trouw.nl+2Ground News+2
Main allegations
a) Bribery and high commissions
Prosecutors say Damen systematically used local agents and paid them very high, often hidden commissions, creating a substantial risk that part of those funds were passed on as bribes to foreign officials to secure shipbuilding contracts. RTL.nl+2Schuttevaer.nl+2
In some cases, invoices and commission overviews allegedly:
- stated 5% commission while the actual commission was around 15%, and
- were falsified or incomplete, to obscure who was paid and for what. Schuttevaer.nl+1
b) Forgery and money laundering
To hide the true nature and destination of commission payments, Damen and certain intermediaries are accused of:
- forging contracts, invoices and internal overviews
- misdescribing payments and routing money through different entities, which the OM qualifies as money laundering of the proceeds of corruption. RTL.nl+2Reuters+2
c) Sanctions violations (Russia)
Separately, Damen is prosecuted for allegedly evading EU sanctions against Russia by:
- exporting crane equipment for crab vessels to Russia in 2022, and
- falsifying export declarations at least 14 times to conceal the real destination from Dutch customs. NL Times+2NL Times+2
The OM argues these goods contributed to Russia’s military/technological capabilities, which would breach the Dutch Sanctiewet (Sanctions Act). Damen disputes this and says the delivery fell within allowed exceptions. NL Times+2ZeelandNet+2
How Damen and its managers respond
Damen denies having bribed officials or deliberately violated sanctions. The company’s public line is roughly:
- the OM’s file now concerns mainly suspected forgery, not large-scale corruption as initially implied;
- Damen claims it has a robust compliance programme, has improved controls, and holds an ISO anti-corruption certification;
- the company and its lawyers say the FIOD/OM investigation has been “one-sided, incomplete and not objective” and that top managers are being “dragged in by their hair.” Lobbyregister beim Deutschen Bundestag+3Schuttevaer.nl+3Damen Shipyards Group+3
Some (former) directors and employees, however, have accepted plea deals or strafbeschikkingen (penal orders) with the OM, effectively settling their case without a full public trial. DutchNews.nl+2Global Investigations Review+2
The Curaçao connection
Curaçao is not a side note in this case – it appears explicitly in the Dutch prosecution file.
Key elements:
- According to the OM, the then-director of the Curaçao Ports Authority / Havenbedrijf Curaçao (CPA) received about €230,000 in bribes between 2008 and early 2011.
- In exchange, he allegedly ensured that Damen received a tugboat construction contract linked to Curaçao’s harbour operations. Schuttevaer.nl+2Schuttevaer.nl+2
Recent Dutch and Curaçaoan reporting adds:
- The official is no longer employed at CPA.
- He has accepted a strafbeschikking (penal order) from the Dutch OM in this matter. Legally, that means he accepts punishment and thereby acknowledges wrongdoing, while avoiding a full public court case. Schuttevaer.nl+2curacao.nu+2
- Curaçao media identify him as former CPA CEO Richard Lopez Ramirez. He confirms that he accepted the settlement, saying he did so mainly because of his health situation and the prospect of a very long trial, while still maintaining that the procurement procedures for tugboats were transparent and that he feels treated unfairly in the media. Antilliaans Dagblad+1
For Curaçao, this means:
- The island’s state-owned port company appears in a major Dutch corruption dossier,
- The case centres on one specific tugboat contract granted to Damen, and
- It raises broader questions about procurement, oversight and integrity within (semi-)public entities on the island, especially where large international suppliers and commission-based intermediaries are involved. curacao.nu+1
Where things stand now
- The main corruption/forgery trial against Damen and its (former) top managers has just started in Zwolle (November 2025). The court is now dealing with procedural issues and extensive requests to hear more than 100 witnesses from around the world, including from the Caribbean. ZeelandNet+3DutchNews.nl+3NOS+3
- The sanctions case on Russia is partly separated and will continue on a timetable that is not yet fully fixed. ZeelandNet+2NL Times+2
- Several individuals (including the ex-CPA director and a former Damen regional director) have settled, and at least two others have recently pleaded guilty, but the main corporate case against Damen itself is only just beginning. curacao.nu+3DutchNews.nl+3Global Investigations Review+3
So in short: the Netherlands is currently trying to untangle a very complex mix of international commissions, alleged bribes, forged paperwork and Russia-related exports, and Curaçao is explicitly on the map because of the alleged bribery surrounding a tugboat contract for the Curaçao Ports Authority.
Dieudonne (Neetje) van der Veen is a financial and management business advisor. His work and experience are mainly in the field of financial management and structuring of companies in distress and Governance on Planning & Control cycles.
Mr. van der Veen has a master’s degree in business economics (Erasmus University Rotterdam), is a Registered Accountant (Royal Dutch Professional Organization of Accountants), CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner) and CICA (Certified Internal Control Auditor).
Mr. van der Veen writes articles about Governance and Fraud, and actively contributes to the ACFE-DCC community for knowledge-sharing.
