Feb 13, 2024 at 3:11 PM Update: 4 days ago
The Amsterdam Bar Association suspects lawyer Gerald Roethof of leaking information from a criminal file. A spokesperson confirmed this following reporting AD. Roethof denies the accusation, says his lawyer Gerard Spong.
Roethof is suspected of leaking information from a criminal file while restrictions were imposed on him and his client, it writes AD. The dean of the order stated this on Monday during a session of the Discipline Council. A spokesperson confirms the newspaper’s story, but does not want to comment on the content to NU.nl.
Dean Jacqueline Schaap said according to it AD that she has received a “serious and worrying signal” regarding Roethof from the Public Prosecution Service. It concerns messages sent with the encrypted messaging service EncroChat. The messaging service was widely used by criminals before it was cracked by the police in 2020.
Information would come from ‘the lawyer’
Roethof represented a client who was arrested in 2020. In the case, the client was given restrictions, meaning he was only allowed to have contact with his lawyer. Nevertheless, information emerged from the ongoing investigation.
In an EncroChat message, an anonymous user writes several times regarding information coming from “the lawyer”. Roethof’s name is also mentioned. According to the dean, there is every reason to think that it was indeed Roethof who leaked the information.
Roethof denied during the case that he leaked information. His own lawyers pointed out that the evidence is based on anonymous chat users.
“We don’t know who it is, they are anonymous witnesses,” lawyer Gerard Spong told NU.nl. Because these are anonymous testimonials, they should not be used, according to Spong.
The dean has not imposed a penalty, but is asking the Discipline Board for a decision. The council can impose various sanctions. For example, Roethof can receive a warning, but can also be (temporarily) suspended. The Discipline Council will make its decision on March 25.
