Horse Meat Scandal: Two and a Half Years in Prison for Dutch Wholesaler

The prosecutor had sought a five-year prison sentence; Willy Selten was sentenced to two and a half years. The Dutch trader behind the infamous “beef-to-horse lasagna” fraud was accused of selling 330 metric tons of horse meat labeled as 100% pure beef, and of having sold some 50,000 metric tons of ground beef containing horse meat in Europe.   On April 7, 2015, the court in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, found Willy Selten, as director of two companies, guilty of “falsifying invoices, delivery notes, and labels, as well as using these forged documents in the meat trade .” The scandal dates back to 2013. This trader’s practices lasted two years and tainted the European meat industry through his system of false labels. Worse still, several companies further down the supply chain suffered greatly as a result, and some even went bankrupt. It all began with inspections in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which prompted authorities to investigate the wholesaler’s businesses. In February 2013, 35 of the 167 samples tested revealed horse DNA in meat sold as “pure beef.” Willy Selten’s defense is based on unintentional errors. However, the court ruled that purchasing £336,000 worth of horse meat was not an innocent act. This is especially true given that an analysis of the financial flows of his two companies shows that, as soon as the first invoices were issued, any mention of horse meat disappeared entirely from the documents. The court also took into account the impact of these practices on the downstream supply chain. It found that the wholesaler’s customers—most of whom were struggling or even bankrupt—saw their reputations directly tarnished. The court even found that Willy Selten’s international activities also affected the Dutch meat sector as a whole, and that this was done solely for financial gain: “He purchased horse meat, which is cheaper than beef, and then resold it at the price of beef.” ” The sentence recommended by the prosecutor was reduced, taking into account, in particular, the personal consequences the trader had already suffered: bankrupt companies, lawsuits against him totaling 11 million euros, etc.  

See also:

Horse Meat Scandal: Wholesaler Faces Five Years in Prison

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