EU Reportedly Suspends €18 Million Sierra Leone Aid

The European Union has suspended €18 million in planned aid to Sierra Leone, amid a dispute over whether the decision is linked to the country’s refusal to extradite Dutch fugitive Jos Leijdekkers, known as “Bolle Jos.” Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel has described the funding suspension as pressure on Sierra Leone to cooperate and warned that another €22.5 million in support could be at risk. The European Commission has disputed that account, saying the suspension resulted from administrative or contractual issues and that aid cannot be withheld as a political sanction when extradition was not a funding condition. Sierra Leone also says delays stem from procedural problems with an amended financing agreement, with disbursements proposed for 2027 and 2028. Leijdekkers, a convicted drug trafficker sentenced in absentia in the Netherlands and Belgium, has reportedly been in Sierra Leone since at least 2023.