Netherlands to pay lawyer 646,000 euros for wrongful prosecution

The Hague District Court has ordered the Dutch state to pay more than 646,000 euros in damages to lawyer Annette Mak following a wrongful criminal prosecution that lasted over a decade.

Mak was arrested in April 2014 on suspicion of involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering, forgery, and violations of gambling laws related to her work for online gambling providers. After a lengthy legal battle, she was fully acquitted by the Oost-Brabant District Court in 2018, a decision later upheld by the 's-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal in March 2024. The appellate court ruled that her legal advisory work did not constitute a criminal contribution to the operations of gambling providers.

The court determined that the Public Prosecution Service's suspicions were unfounded and that three publications regarding Mak were unlawful. The compensation includes 15,000 euros for non-material damages and approximately 572,000 euros to cover lost income and legal costs.