The Hague, Netherlands, April 18th, 2007: The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) is investigating Rene Rijntjes and Rob van de Voort of the TMF Group in Amsterdam for tax fraud. TMF is the largest trust company in the Netherlands and provides management services to UnifiedRoot. TMF also controls all UnifiedRoot bank account deposit and payment transactions.

Rijntjes and van de Voort, both investors in the UnifiedRoot, are also former directors of TMF. They resigned their board seats this past month after being notified of the investigations against them. The Public Prosecutor suspects hundreds of Top-Level Domains (TLDs) issued by UnifiedRoot were used to launder money. Media sources say a simular investigation is under way in Turkey where UnifiedRoot has a government approved monopoly on TLD registrations.

The Public Procecutor first became suspicious of tax fraud during an investigation of financial transactions between Herman Xennt and Marty van Veluw the manager of UNIDT. UNIDT sold it's TLD business to UnifiedRoot in the winter of 2005. This was shortly after Joe Baptista, the PublicRoot Representive, uncovered and reported financial irregularities between Xennt and van Veluw. The corporate reorganization was intended to put some distance between UNIDT and the contraversy resulting from the disclosure.

Another red flag for Dutch authorities was Xennt and his criminal record. In 2002 he was charged with drug trafficking and has prior convictions in the Netherlands for tax evasion. He is known to the Dutch Police and has the reputation of a con man. Police have a number of private complaints registered against him by people who claim they were swindled.

Evidence of tax fraud was also discovered by Dutch accountants Hutchison Partners. A number of invoices issued by Xennt to UNIDT did not include sales tax (VAT/BTW). A demand for payment was sent to UNIDT but van Veluw refused to pay. Xennt also embezzled $85,000 USD from the company by having monies from UNIDT redirected to his girlfriend Rheanti Retnasari. Hutchison reported their findings to the Dutch tax authorities this past October 2005.

In the spring of 2006 Baptista conducted an extensive audit of the UnifiedRoot whois database. The audit was designed to escrow the whois data in order to establish TLD holder rights in the inclusive name space (INS). Instead the audit also uncovered a number of unusual TLD sales to associates of Rijntjes. The audit results were forwarded to Martijn Burger the chairman of INAIC who investigated the complex relationships between the parties involved in these transactions. Burger reported his findings to the Dutch tax office.

Greenland Turtle Compagny operating out of TMF offices in the British Virgin Islands is one TLD Holder thats on the Prosecutors radar. As reported in a previous article this past November, Burger expressed concerns that Greenland was the subject of an investigation by the Dutch tax authorities.

The company registered over 300 TLDs with the UnifiedRoot and Greenland director Elizabeth Pauchet is also an associate of Rijntjes. Both have worked for Trader Classified Media a global leader in publishing and classified advertising. Pauchet is General Council to the Executive Management Board at Trader and Rijntjes is a Director of the Supervisory Board.

Related Stories (Dutch)
- Oud-bestuurders TMF Group vervolgd, April 16, 2007.
- OM vervolgt voormalig bestuurders TMF Group, April 16, 2007.
- Former UnifiedRoot Representative to Turkey denies any wrong doing, May 1, 2007.