National Threat Assessment 2008. Organised Crime - Politie

caught will increase. Fraudsters successfully evade supervision by using tricks,
such as offering investment products with a value of more than € 50,000 or
by calling a product a loan or funding rather than an investment. They also
operate from abroad, as a result of which they are able to evade Dutch laws
and regulations. Swindlers residing in the Netherlands can also evade supervision
by the Dutch authorities by only making offers to residents abroad.
As a result, the scale of Fata Morgana fraud will probably not decline in the next
four years, and neither are there any reasons to assume that the consequences
will change.
3.3.7 Conclusion
The scale of the Fata Morgana fraud construction is difficult to establish, but it
is clear that the financial loss involved in advanced fee and investment fraud is
significant, even if estimates are used that should be seen as lower limits only.
Furthermore, there are also consequences of a non-financial nature, especially
the psychological harm suffered by victims. The outlook for the next four years
does not look promising. Swindlers are flexible and always find new ways to
carry out the same fraud construction. Supervision can easily be evaded. The
Fata Morgana fraud construction therefore qualifies as a threat to Dutch society.
3.4 Crime involving soil remediation 43
3.4.1 Introduction and scope
There is a need for soil remediation when polluted ground means adverse
consequences for people and the environment. The purpose of soil remediation
is to limit these consequences for people and the environment, and to reverse
them as much as possible. The Soil Protection Act is one of the most important
Acts that govern the use and management of ground. In the Netherlands the
Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment is responsible for the
soil remediation operation. The provinces and municipalities prepare long-term
programmes for scheduling and performance of remediation operations.
An environmental advisor supervises the remediation process, which is carried
out by a contractor.
43
This section is based on a report prepared for NTA 2008: Dienst IPOL, 2008. Bodemsaneringen.
Verslag van een onderzoek voor het Nationaal dreigingsbeeld 2008. Korps landelijke
politiediensten (Netherlands Police Agency), Dienst IPOL, Zoetermeer. The author of this report
is W. van der Leest, with assistance from F. van den Heuvel and G. van der Zon.
112 National Threat Assessment 2008 – Organised crime