Companies can unexpectedly be confronted by a Dutch or foreign government agency knocking on their door, requesting access to collect information. This unannounced inspection of business premises is also called a dawn raid. It can take one to several days. During a dawn raid, employees and directors may be interviewed and records (paper documents, email inboxes, cloud environments, etc.) may be copied or seized.
Examples of government agencies that can launch a dawn raid include the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), the Dutch Central Bank (DNB), the European Commission, the Dutch Data Protection Authority, environmental agencies, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), the Dutch Healthcare Authority, the Netherlands Labour Authority, the police, the Public Prosecution Service and the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD).
A dawn raid usually marks the beginning of a long and intensive investigation by the government agency. The investigation can result in the imposition of a penalty or an order subject to a penalty, licence withdrawal, or even a prison sentence. These sanctions will also be published in most cases. As even just the raid itself will often lead to publicity, it is crucial to be well-prepared.
Houthoff has extensive experience with dawn raids and how to prepare for them. There is always a team available to travel immediately to the business premises in question. In addition, Houthoff also regularly assists clients in the subsequent stages, for example if the government agency considers imposing measures, whether under administrative law (AFM, DNB or ACM) or criminal law (police, FIOD or Public Prosecution Service).
