The Dutch prosecutor said that they summoned Damen Shipyards, a shipbuilder in the Netherlands, on suspicion of violating EU Sanctions against Russia. They also opened a separate corruption case against Damen Shipyards and its top executives.

The company denied the accusations. In the case of sanctions, the company said that it "always acted according to the applicable sanction packages" and it was "surprised" that a case from June 2022 had been submitted to court.

It said that it was "confident" in the case and had the opportunity to finally explain why the suspicions held by the Public Prosecution Service were incorrect.

In a press release, Dutch customs led the investigation into a possible breach of the Sanctions Act. The investigation focused on the goods and technologies that could have bolstered the Russian military based on 2022 actions, the statement said.

In the case of corruption, Damen and certain executives will be prosecuted on suspicions of bribery or money laundering, as well as forgery, when ships are sold overseas over a time period spanning from 2006 to 2017.

Damen sueded the Dutch government in October 2023 for damages it claimed it suffered as a result of European sanctions against Russia.

Damen, a family-owned company that employs over 12,000 people, will likely win a significant share of the Dutch Government's plans to replace the navy fleet by 15 years. The Dutch government has multi-billion-euro plans for the replacement. (Reporting and editing by Peter Graff; Benoit van Overstraeten)

(source: Reuters)