{"id":108089,"date":"2020-01-16T10:03:08","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T09:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=108089"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:38","slug":"e1-2-million-fraud-case-at-groningen-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/01\/16\/e1-2-million-fraud-case-at-groningen-university\/","title":{"rendered":"\u20ac1.2 million fraud case at Groningen University"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOS has reported<\/a> that three employees of Groningen University (RUG) transferred \u20ac1.2 million\u2019s worth of grant money and students\u2019 tuition fees to a foundation of their own.<\/p>\n

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Groningen University\u2019s Academy Building in Broerstraat in Groningen. <\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWutsje \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

One of the employees was fired. All three were reported to the police for grant fraud and forgery, and the contents of the foundation\u2019s bank account were seized. The three academics in question were suspended in March 2019, when concerns arose about the funding of an international Master\u2019s programme for students wanting to provide humanitarian aid in places struck by natural and man-made disasters.<\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to the university, the three employees of the Faculty of Humanities had established a foundation for this Master\u2019s programme in 2014. This foundation allowed\u00a0one of the employees to claim significant amounts of expenses and make additional payments to themselves and others. The foundation concluded contracts with external partners, on RUG letterhead and using RUG stamps, listing the foundation\u2019s bank number.<\/p>\n

The university also recognised the personal aspects of the case, which involved people who for many years were \u2018tremendously committed\u2019 to the Master\u2019s programme. \u201cHowever, we cannot but draw the conclusion that rules were broken quite significantly in this matter, and the employees involved must face the consequences,\u201d the President of the university\u2019s Executive Board, Jouke de Vries, said\u00a0in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not the first time it happened<\/h2>

This was not the first time that RUG found itself in hot water due to fraud. In 2016 the then head of the technical management unit was found to have\u00a0stolen \u20ac1.1 million<\/a>. This employee was sentenced to three years\u2019 imprisonment, including a six-month suspended jail term.<\/p>\n

Last year, the Education Inspectorate found that the university had wrongly used public money to establish an overseas campus in Yantai, China. This caused RUG to return one million euros\u2019 worth of tax money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe realise that such incidents have occurred at RUG before,\u201d said De Vries. \u201cWe will use these case studies to show our community that we don\u2019t want these types of things to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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