Following the public disclosure of the Royal
Ahold fraud in 2003 both Dutch and U.S. law
enforcement authorities fled criminal charges
against the company and several of its former
executives. The Financial Times reported that
the Royal Ahold case was the “most significant
white-collar criminal case”17 ever pursued by
federal authorities in the Netherlands. Shortly
after criminal charges were filed in the case,
a Dutch prosecutor asked the SEC not to pursue the charges that it had filed against the
company and its former Netherlands-based
executives since doing so would raise a “double
jeopardy” issue under Dutch law. In responding
to the request, the SEC noted, “Because of the
importance of the case in the Netherlands and
the need for further cooperation between the
SEC and regulatory authorities in other countries, the Commission has agreed to the Dutch
prosecutor’s reques