Global Investigations Review Quotes Jasper Helder on Dutch Court Ruling on Independent Investigations

Akin Gump international trade partner Jasper Helder has been quoted in the Global Investigations Review article “Dutch lawyers unfazed by court’s comments on independent investigations.”

The article reports on a ruling by the Netherlands’ Court of Appeal in Amsterdam that internal investigations conducted by external lawyers cannot be not considered independent because they are carried out in the client’s interests. According to GIR, the court said that the general public would not consider such probes sufficiently impartial and that it would be potentially misleading to suggest that they are.

Helder, though, took exception to the ruling, saying that the court’s views on internal investigations are “a bit of a setback,” as they could damage the credibility of such investigations in the eyes of the authorities and harm a company’s ability to reach a settlement and receive credit for self-disclosure.

Helder, who is a member of the Dutch bar, added that the Dutch Public Prosecution Service often gives a lot of deference to internal investigations because lawyers will carry them out with prosecutors in mind. “We often try to put ourselves in their shoes [when conducting an investigation], because otherwise the results will be challenged by the authorities,” he said.