Prince Bernhard resigns in shadow of Lockheed scandal
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from August 1976.
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As expected, the three-man independent commission of inquiry failed to find any proof of allegations that the Prince had taken $1,100,000 in pay-offs, directly or indirectly, from the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.
But it quoted the Prince himself as admitting that about $100,000 of Lockheed money had gone, with his knowledge, to "a few mutual acquaintances who could be assumed to need financial support for social reasons." The recipients of this money were not named. The Prince's partner in this disbursement was Mr. Fred Meuser, the Dutch-born former Lockheed representative in Europe, an old crony of the Prince from war-time days.
Also unaccounted for was the sum of $62,000 which, the commission found, had been spent for the Prince's benefit in 1965.
Summing up, the commission, headed by Dr. Andreas Donner, a distinguished Dutch jurist, came to the conclusion that the Prince "in the conviction that his position was unassailable and his judgment was not to be influenced, originally entered much too lightly into transactions which were bound to create the impression that he was susceptible to favours." Secondly, the commission charged that "he showed himself open to dishonourable requests and ofers." Finally, he had allowed himself to be "tempted to take initiative which were completely unacceptable and which were bound to place himself and the Netherlands (Military) procurements policy...in a dubious light."
In addition to quitting his post as Inspector General of the Dutch armed forces, the Prince is resigning his other defence functions. He is a member of the Admiralty Council, the Army Council, the Air Force Council and the General Defence Council. Presumably the business posts from which the Prince is resigning include his directorships of leading Dutch firms. He is a member of the board of the Fokker-VFW aircraft works, the Royal Netherlands Blastfurnaces and Steelworks, the Netherlands Trade and Industries Fair and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
