Dutch flower exporters face €170,000 non-payment case

Dutch flower exporters have been confronted with extensive non-payment. AgroCheck is currently investigating a case involving a Dutch company that had been active in the floriculture sector for several years, leaving multiple flower exporters with large outstanding invoices. The damage currently known amounts to approximately €170,000, but AgroCheck does not rule out the possibility that more suppliers have been affected.

Several striking circumstances emerged during the investigation. The company is registered as a Dutch limited company (B.V.), yet it holds only a business registration and has no operational business address in the Netherlands. The flowers it purchased were exported to Serbia.

The company’s owners, who are of Serbian origin, have been known to AgroCheck for years. They have been involved in at least ten previous companies in both the Netherlands and Serbia, each time leaving suppliers with significant outstanding debts — in short, old acquaintances of the industry.

The investigation further reveals that part of the trade was resold via the Dutch company to a Serbian company owned by another notorious defaulter. That individual is believed to have caused at least €2.5 million in damage to suppliers in the Netherlands, Colombia, and Ecuador over the past fifteen years.

According to AgroCheck, the available information indicates that these trade flows are no coincidence. The organisation is continuing to investigate the connections between the companies and individuals involved.

Source: AgroCheck