European Union financial support for Sierra Leone is being reviewed amid a dispute over the extradition of Dutch fugitive Jos Leijdekkers, also known as Bolle Jos.

The European Commission said an €18 million disbursement initially planned for 2026 was under assessment and that no payment was currently scheduled. The clarification followed comments by Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel, who said the Commission had stopped payments with immediate effect because Sierra Leone was not cooperating in efforts to extradite Leijdekkers.

“The €18 million disbursement initially foreseen for 2026 is currently under assessment and no disbursement is currently planned,” Luca Dilda, a press officer for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Mediterranean at the Commission’s Directorate-General for Communication, said in comments reported by Fritong Post.

Dilda also said that continuing programmes benefiting the population had been handed to external implementing partners. Those programmes, he said, were not being channelled through the Government of Sierra Leone.

Dutch pressure over extradition

Van Weel welcomed the reported funding decision in remarks to De Telegraaf, saying it was unacceptable for European funds to go to a country that refused to cooperate in the extradition of Leijdekkers.

The Dutch fugitive, who is described as being from Breda, has reportedly appeared on Dutch and Europol wanted lists since 2022. A Rotterdam court sentenced him in absentia to 24 years in prison on 25 June 2024 for cocaine trafficking and ordering a murder.

Belgian courts also imposed additional sentences. The source report said a court in Dendermonde handed down an eight-year term on 19 May 2026 in connection with an 11-tonne shipment sent from Sierra Leone to Antwerp. The cargo was reportedly concealed in palm kernel meal and had a stated street value of €550 million.

The European Commission has expressed concern about drug trafficking in Sierra Leone and the wider West African region. The source report also said Van Weel had attributed hundreds of millions of euros in monthly income to Leijdekkers, although that figure was presented as the minister’s assessment.

Uncertainty over future aid

The EU allocated €325 million in development assistance to Sierra Leone for the 2021–2027 period. The source report said the Netherlands was seeking to persuade EU member states to block a further €20.5 million expected for 2027, but no decision on that funding had been made.

The exact legal and administrative status of the current EU action remains unclear. The Commission has described the 2026 payment as being under assessment, while the Dutch minister described the move as an immediate halt to payments.

Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Information said the government had been informed by the European Union of its decision. The supplied information did not include the government’s detailed legal position on the extradition request or an official EU decision document.