Jailtime sentence handed down to former Max Verstappen sponsor

The former CEO of a long-time sponsor of Max Verstappen is off to jail, having been charged with a number of offences.

A court in the Netherlands has sentenced former Jumbo Supermarkets CEO Fritz van Eerd to two years in prison, having been convicted of money laundering, forgery, and acceptance of bribes.

Former Jumbo CEO sentenced to jail

Jumbo Supermarkets was a prominent sponsor of Verstappen for a decade, having thrown its support behind the young Dutch driver back in 2014.

Van Eerd was confirmed as being suspected of money laundering in September 2022. He stepped down from his role as CEO in the wake of this, being replaced by Ton van Veen. Van Eerd has had no involvement with Jumbo Supermarkets since the beginning of the investigation.

In early ’23, Jumbo confirmed it would row back on many of its sporting sponsorship deals, including the sponsorship of combined skating and cycling team Jumbo-Visma, motocross rider Jeffrey Herlings, and various football clubs and billiards tournaments.

Initially, Verstappen retained Jumbo’s sponsorship, but last year, the end of this deal was confirmed by Van Veen.

Jumbo opted to allocate its resources spent on sport elsewhere, with Van Veen explaining the decision to Dutch publication De Volkskrant.

“In recent years, Jumbo has lost its focus somewhat,” he said.

“We have added a number of activities that have not necessarily strengthened the formula. We have also become very active in sports sponsorship.

“But when you look at the successes of athletes and teams, you have to ask yourself if that suits us. Max Verstappen is a World Champion. But we are a Dutch supermarket company, not even the biggest. On the world stage, we don’t have much business.

“That means we no longer put tens of millions into sports sponsorship, but use it to lower prices. That is the essence of Jumbo as it was meant to be.”

Van Eerd has been given a harsher punishment than the Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands had sought for him, with the court opting against suspending any of his prison term.

Van Eerd is reporting by the Netherlands’ NLTimes as having been found with €448,000 in cash hidden in his home and office, having been searched by the police as part of its money laundering investigation into former motocross racer Theo E, who has also been sentenced to a prison term.

According to the report, the Public Prosecution Service alleges Van Eerd created and approved false invoices, classifying them as sponsorship money for a motocross team, with the money ending up in the rider’s pockets. In exchange, Theo E gave him cash, cars, and motocross bikes.

The court’s ruling was that Van Eerd was proven to have laundered money, saying that he knew the money he received originated from criminal activities.

“Laundering criminal assets facilitated the underlying crime,” the judge said, according to ANP.

“Money laundering undermines the legal economy and is a threat to society. Van Eerd is held seriously accountable for this.”

Also reported was the judge’s consideration that Van Eerd had abused his position as Jumbo CEO and defrauded his own company with forged sponsorship invoices, enriching himself at the expense of the supermarket chain.

Approached for comment by PlanetF1.com, a spokesperson for Jumbo Supermarkets said, “This is obviously a significant moment for Frits van Eerd and his family, and therefore for Jumbo as a family business.

“We extend our sympathy to Frits and his loved ones.

“We would like to emphasise that Jumbo is not a party to this case, as it is a matter in which Frits van Eerd is involved privately.

“The ruling has no consequences for the day-to-day operations of Jumbo.”

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