Wilders ally overseeing 1st stage of Dutch coalition-building quits over fraud allegation

He was set to meet Wilders and other party leaders on Monday, but those meetings were cancelled.Van Strien has denied wrongdoing after Dutch media reported that he was embroiled in a fraud case.

A party ally of far-right Dutch election winner Geert Wilders on Monday quit his role in the building of a new governing coalition over fraud allegations, throwing the process of creating a new government into turmoil before it had begun.

Gom van Strien, a senator for Wilders' Party for Freedom, was appointed last week as a "scout" to discuss possible coalitions. He was set to meet Wilders and other party leaders on Monday, but those meetings were cancelled.

Van Strien has denied wrongdoing after Dutch media reported that he was embroiled in a fraud case. But on Monday morning, he issued a statement saying that "both the unrest that has arisen about this and the preparation of a response to it" hampered his work seeking a coalition.