Two restaurant owners have been arrested in the Netherlands in an investigation involving Indian workers, alleged labour exploitation and more than €4 million in suspected illegal gains. Here is what we actually know — and what we don’t.
If you are Indian and live around Amsterdam, Utrecht or The Hague, there is a reasonable chance you saw this story and immediately had one question:
Which restaurants? We will get to that. But first, the actual case is considerably bigger than restaurant gossip.
On Friday, 18 September, the Netherlands Labour Authority arrested two people suspected of human trafficking through labour exploitation and migrant smuggling. According to investigators, the two suspects jointly own eight restaurants belonging to three international Indian restaurant chains.
The restaurants are located in and around Utrecht, Amsterdam, The Hague, Hoofddorp and Hilversum. Property, bank accounts, computers and business records were seized during the operation.
The case in 30 seconds
2 restaurant owners arrested
3 international Indian restaurant chains
8 restaurants in the Netherlands
70+ work-and-residence permits involved
60–80 hours allegedly worked by some employees each week
6–7 days allegedly worked per week
€4 million+ estimated unlawful financial benefit
19 restaurant inspections across the international operation
8 of those inspections in the Netherlands
All of these figures come from the Netherlands Labour Authority. The suspects have not been convicted, and the allegations are now part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
How did a chef visa become part of a human-trafficking investigation?
The story revolves around something called the Asian Catering Scheme.
For years, Dutch Asian restaurants could use special rules to recruit experienced cooks from outside Europe. The idea was fairly straightforward: if you run a specialist Chinese, Thai or Indian kitchen, finding someone in the Netherlands who can genuinely do that job may not be easy.
Under the scheme, restaurants could bring specialist cooks to the Netherlands using a combined residence and work permit known as a GVVA.
Investigators now say that the three restaurant chains involved in this case applied for more than 70 such permits.
Here is where things allegedly went badly wrong.
According to the Labour Authority, in dozens of cases people brought to the Netherlands as specialist cooks were instead working as:
- dishwashers,
- cleaners,
- waiting staff,
- or restaurant managers.
Investigators also allege that they were not paid the salary stated in their immigration applications.
And then there were the hours.
Rather than the permitted 38-hour workweek described in the applications, workers allegedly sometimes worked 60 to 80 hours per week across six or seven days — without additional pay for the extra hours.
The Labour Authority estimates that this system generated more than €4 million in unlawful benefit for the suspects.
To be clear: that €4 million is not a fine or court award. It is investigators’ estimate of the financial benefit allegedly obtained.
Why is it under Human Trafficking Laws?
Underpaying people is bad. But that alone does not explain why this is being investigated as human trafficking.
Authorities say the workers were allegedly recruited, housed and employed by the same people. Investigators also report indications of so-called “bond” or penalty contracts that could financially punish a worker for leaving early.
More seriously, they are investigating allegations of pressure on workers’ families in India and threats of violence.
When your employer controls your job, your income, possibly your accommodation and a work permit linked to that employment, “just quit” can become rather less simple than it sounds.
This wasn’t just a Dutch restaurant inspection
The action was coordinated from the Netherlands but extended beyond it.
Dutch investigators worked with authorities in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland, with support from Europol. Nineteen restaurants were inspected during the operation, including eight in the Netherlands. A human-trafficking expert was stationed at the coordination centre in Utrecht while information came in from different countries.
Dutch investigators also say they are continuing to trace money connected with the suspected network.
And the case may grow: the Labour Authority explicitly says further arrests have not been ruled out.
Okay. But which restaurants?
The authorities have not publicly named either the suspects or the three restaurant chains.
What they have given us is a fairly specific puzzle:
three international Indian chains + eight Dutch restaurants + Utrecht + Amsterdam + The Hague + Hoofddorp + Hilversum.
Anyone familiar with the South Indian restaurant scene in the Netherlands can start opening Google Maps at this point. Public company and restaurant records make the guessing even easier.
For example, the Labour Authority’s public inspection database shows that one restaurant company at Vredenburg in Utrecht was inspected on 29 February 2024. The database displays six separate entries marked “Overtreding vastgesteld” — violation found. A restaurant’s own public legal-information page connects that same company and address to a well-known international South Indian chain.
It is not, however, proof that the company or restaurant is part of the September 2026 criminal case. The Labour Authority has not made that connection publicly.
We do not wish to publish any names before the legal procedure is complete.
Why this case may feel familiar
The Asian Catering Scheme had already developed a serious problem long before these arrests.
The Dutch government stopped allowing new cases under the special scheme in 2022 after Labour Authority investigations found violations at roughly half of the Asian catering businesses inspected. Some cases raised suspicions of serious disadvantage, human trafficking, illegal employment or other criminal offences. The remaining exceptional arrangements eventually ended in July 2024.
So the alleged mechanism in the current Indian restaurant case isn’t something authorities suddenly discovered last Friday.
The warning lights had been flashing for years.
Which raises a bigger question:
How did a Dutch policy designed to solve a shortage of specialist Asian chefs end up being associated with repeated allegations of migrant exploitation?
That is the story behind the story — and the subject of Part 2 of this series.
WHAT WE KNOW / WHAT WE DON’T
We know
- Two restaurant owners were arrested.
- They own eight restaurants across three international Indian chains.
- More than 70 GVVA permits are part of the investigation.
- Investigators allege systematic underpayment, extreme working hours and misuse of permits.
- Authorities are investigating labour exploitation and migrant smuggling.
- The operation extends beyond the Netherlands.
We don’t know
- The names of the arrested owners.
- Which three chains the authorities are referring to.
- How many workers will ultimately be legally recognised as victims.
- Which allegations prosecutors will eventually charge.
- Whether any suspect will be convicted.
Publication note: allegations should remain described as allegations until criminal proceedings establish otherwise.
