The cost to the Netherlands government of the Flight MH17 disaster
At the government’s request, the Netherlands Court of Audit has assessed in detail the cost to government organisations and institutions of the 2014 downing of Flight MH17 with a Russian Buk missile in eastern Ukraine. It found that the disaster has so far cost the Netherlands government at least €166 million. The assessment report was submitted to the House of Representatives and published on 29 February.
The images are etched in our memory. Military cargo planes landing at Eindhoven Airport. Hundreds of casualties carried in coffins under the watchful eye of the King and Queen.
Then, an endless procession of hearses along the A2 motorway on their way to Hilversum, to the Van Oudheusden Barracks.
There, the identification takes place of victims from civil aircraft MH17, which was shot down while flying over Ukraine. All 298 passengers and crew died on 17 July 2014. Among them 196 Dutch nationals and nine people of other nationalities living in our country.
This happened nearly ten years ago. Today, the Netherlands Court of Audit publishes its assessment of the costs incurred by the Dutch government due to the MH17 disaster.
The assessment was requested by the Prime Minister on behalf of the government as part of the Dutch legal proceedings against the Russian Federation.
In this context, I wish to emphasise that the pain of the bereaved cannot be measured by money. This assessment is about the costs incurred by ministries, municipalities and other government organisations, such as the national police the Public Prosecutor and the Dutch Safety Board. It specifically concerns only costs incurred by Dutch authorities. And not the personal costs of the bereaved, costs incurred by affected companies or by foreign authorities.
We received cost statements from 83 government organisations and assessed them against international audit standards.
The costs incurred between 17 July 2014 and the end of 2022 that the Court of Audit was able to identify amount to 166 million euros. In the case of uncertainties, we did not include an amount.
These 166 million euros include crisis management costs made immediately after the disaster.
Costs for the repatriation of victims and their identification. And the cost of investigations by the national police, the Ministry of Defence, the Dutch Safety Board, and the Public Prosecutor.
This assessment, and the trial in The Hague, have brought the facts to light.
And of course, costs due to the aftereffects of the disaster. Costs the government makes to care for the bereaved, contributions to commemorations, and various ongoing legal proceedings.
We explicitly refer to this as an interim balance. Some costs will continue after 2022. For example, trauma counselling for the bereaved or maintenance of memorials, for a special documents archive or advances the government recently paid to the bereaved regarding the damages that the court ordered the three offenders to pay.
Meanwhile, there are various ongoing legal proceedings concerning the violation of human rights and the liability of the Russian State for taking down Flight MH17. These costs are also ongoing.
This is why the Court of Audit will provide annual updates of its assessment. So that you, society, politicians and the state as litigant in the proceedings have the correct financial data at your fingertips.
All 298 passengers and crew, including 196 Dutch nationals, lost their lives on 17 July 2014. The assessment, published on 29 February 2024, covers the period from the day of the disaster to 31 December 2022. Costs have also been incurred since 2022 and more are expected to follow. In its report, The cost to the Netherlands government of the MH17 disaster, the Court of Audit refers to a provisional balance of the costs. In August 2023, for instance, the government made advance payments amounting to €16.5 million to next of kin in respect of compensation that a criminal court in the Netherlands ordered the 3 perpetrators to pay in June 2023. Whether they will actually settle the compensation, however, is uncertain. Costs will also be incurred in the years ahead for psychotrauma support for next of kin and for maintenance of the various MH17 memorials in the Netherlands. Furthermore, proceedings brought before the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will involve government lawyers. The Court of Audit has therefore undertaken to update its cost assessment every year.
The government will use the cost assessment in ongoing legal proceedings. The Court did not assess all the costs relating to the Flight MH17 disaster. It does not consider costs incurred by private individuals and businesses. The suffering of the victims’ next of kin cannot even be expressed in monetary terms.
The Prime Minister asked the Court of Audit to carry out the cost assessment in June 2021 in view of its independence in the Netherlands’ constitutional system. The assessment accurately reveals which of the many activities were carried out by which of many government organisations and how much they cost. The assessment report maps out the costs from the initial crisis management and repatriation of victims from southeast Ukraine by the police and marechaussee with the aid of Ministry of Defence aircraft from the Netherlands and Australia in 2014 and 2015. It also reveals the cost of the identification investigation conducted by special police services and the National Forensic Institute. The 298 victims included 196 Dutch nationals and 8 people who were not Dutch nationals but lived in the Netherlands. The assessment also covered the cost of support for the victims’ next of kin, the accident investigation, the criminal case and the involvement of diplomats in international proceedings. The Court of Audit checked the cost statements against the international standards of Supreme Audit Institutions.
Use of the cost assessment
The government will use the cost assessment in proceedings before the International Civil Aviation Organization. The Kingdom of the Netherlands and Australia are holding the Russian Federation responsible there for all costs arising from the downing of Flight MH17. It is not known when a decision will be handed down in the proceedings. The Netherlands is also supporting next of kin in a case brought against the Russian Federation before the European Court of Human Rights. That case is concerned principally with the next of kin’s losses due to the violation of their human rights.
Any feedback on this investigation
We welcome any feedback on our investigations. What do you think of this report? If you have any questions or want any further information, please e-mail us at feedback@rekenkamer.nl. You can be sure that we will read all e-mails carefully.