School principal channelled nearly €1 million to family businesses
AMOS investigates procurement after staff raised questions about invoices and activities.
The principal of the Oranje Nassauschool in Amsterdam-Noord commissioned companies owned by her daughter and son-in-law to carry out work worth at least €976,943 between 2023 and 2026. Staff question whether all the activities invoiced were carried out; the AMOS school board says it found no irregularities.
The amounts emerged from invoices and internal documents seen by Het Parool, NL Times reports. According to that reconstruction, the largest share went towards after-school activities for around 270 pupils. Programmes during school holidays, language and spoken-word lessons, Christmas and summer packages, and materials were also invoiced.
Staff told the newspaper that some holiday activities in particular are difficult to verify properly. According to them, no one can confirm that all the programmes paid for actually took place. That indicates a control problem, but does not establish that fraud was committed.
The principal, Audrey Rajcomar, referred questions to the AMOS board. Board member Jonne Gaemers called doing business with family undesirable, according to reports, and said it should stop immediately. AMOS had the invoices for the 2023–2026 period examined and brought in an external controller for the purpose.
According to AMOS, the investigation found no irregularities. The board also says it found no indications that paid-for activities had not taken place. At the same time, it acknowledges that it is difficult in retrospect to establish precisely what was offered one or two years earlier. The most recent payment to a family member is said to have taken place in May 2026.
The issue therefore touches on two separate questions: whether the activities were delivered and whether the procurement procedure should have prevented the appearance of a conflict of interest. According to the publicly available information, the answer to the first question has not been established fully independently. On the second question, AMOS already has an integrity code that seeks specifically to exclude procurement from family members or acquaintances.
AMOS has announced that it will tighten its integrity code and internal controls over contracts awarded to relatives. The public sources report no complaint, criminal investigation or court ruling. Rajcomar has not been identified as a suspect in this matter; it concerns questions about governance, oversight and the use of publicly funded education money.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- AMOS says it found no irregularities in its own investigation.
- Staff have raised questions about some of the activities.
- AMOS's public integrity code says conflicts of interest in procurement must be avoided.
Left
Arguments Public education money should demonstrably go to pupils and should not pass through family businesses without maximum transparency. Employees and participation bodies should have a strong role in oversight.
Values Equality, public responsibility and protection for employees who report wrongdoing.
Consequences Without tighter controls, trust in school boards may decline and money may leak away from educational objectives.
Centre
Arguments Family businesses are not automatically unsuitable, but contracts should be transparent, in line with market rates and assessed by independent officials. The facts must first be fully established.
Values Carefulness, proportionality and administrative oversight.
Consequences A clear procedure can both prevent conflicts of interest and protect board members from unsubstantiated allegations.
Right
Arguments Board members must be personally accountable for the spending of taxpayers' money, and controls should easily demonstrate which services were delivered. School boards should not be able to hide behind complicated procedures.
Values Responsibility, thrift and verifiable performance.
Consequences Stricter oversight can limit waste, but too many rules can also make schools slower to organise activities.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The core amounts and responses can be checked against a public news source and AMOS documentation. Claims about activities not being carried out are presented as disputed, not as established fact.
- confirmed Between 2023 and 2026, at least €976,943 was paid to companies owned by relatives of the principal. — Mentioned in NL Times' public reconstruction. source
- confirmed AMOS had the invoices examined and says it found no irregularities. — Described by NL Times on the basis of AMOS's response. source
- confirmed The AMOS integrity code says that conflicts of interest, such as procuring from someone known privately, must be avoided. — Stated in AMOS's public integrity code. source
- uncertain Staff cannot confirm that all invoiced holiday activities took place. — This is a dispute attributed to staff, not an independently established fact. source
Editor's note
The amount, period and AMOS's response have been described publicly. It has not been independently established whether all the activities took place; there is no public indication of criminal prosecution.Sources
- Amsterdam school principal awarded €1 million in contracts to family’s businesses — NL Times
- Integriteitscode — AMOS
- Oranje-Nassau, Amsterdam School Finder — Gemeente Amsterdam
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