Judgment Auxiliary Forces Alliance Foundation

In January 2020, the world was shocked by news of the outbreak of an unknown coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Healthcare workers worked day and night to avert a healthcare crisis. Global demand for protective equipment exploded, leaving many healthcare workers unprotected or with inadequate face masks. The Auxiliary Forces Alliance Foundation offered a non-profit solution. The directors of this foundation entered into an agreement with the State to supply 40 million face masks for EUR 100.8 million. However, they did not use the foundation for this, but a private limited company. They then paid themselves millions in dividends as shareholders of that company. When this became known, there was considerable public unrest. In its judgment of 5 February 2025, the Amsterdam District Court ruled that the directors must repay the profits to the foundation.

👉 Was this a case of improper management?

👉 Should they have concluded the face mask deal with the foundation themselves?

Caspar Scholten wrote an annotation ( link in Dutch) under the judgment for the JOR.