Rotterdam council admits it ignored 30 misconduct reports about its own urban-development department amid a bribery investigation

Following a December 2023 NRC investigation into suspected fraud in the asbestos removal and renovation of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and concert hall De Doelen, Rotterdam's municipal ombudsman Marianne van den Anker received roughly 30 reports from officials and contractors describing an 'old boys network' circumventing procurement rules within the city's Stadsontwikkeling (Urban Development) department. In February 2025 Rotterdam's governing college told the city council it regretted not acting on earlier corruption signals, after an internal 2021 staff memo had reportedly instructed employees to 'let it go.' The Public Prosecution Service separately opened a criminal investigation and, in February 2025, conducted searches of homes and offices in Rotterdam and four other municipalities; a suspended project leader is suspected of accepting bribes.