Product safety watchdog NVWA was misled and lied to by cargo bike maker Babboe about the technical failures for years and has joined the public prosecutor in starting a criminal investigation, RTL Nieuws reported.

The company has already been banned from selling certain models because of safety concerns, particularly the quality of the frames, several of which broke while being used.

Photographs, tape recordings, documents and interviews with staff show that Babboe hid broken frames during an NVWA inspection in 2021, RTL said. In one of the recordings staff admit they took the frames elsewhere or “shoved them into containers or vans”.

The NVWA said in a reaction it is “shocked and horrified” about the deception. “If things are being kept from us we cannot do our job. That is undermining and wrong,” spokesman Bjorn Elsebrock told RTL.

The spokesman confirmed the NVWA is starting criminal proceedings against the bike maker for “severely jeopardising people’s safety”. “The investigation is being carried out by our criminal investigation department and the public prosecution office. “That will have to confirm the findings,” he said.

Babboe owner Accell said in a reaction they “reject and distance themselves from the new reports from the past” and are “actively and transparently working with the NVWA investigation”.

Last month Babboe launched a recall for four versions of its popular cargo bike, saying the safety of users cannot be guaranteed. Up to 10,000 bikes are subject to the recall which covers the City, City E, Mini and Mini E labels.

Clients with other types of Babboe should also stop using them pending further information, director Gerard Feenema said in an online video message. The company is also in talks with safety boards in other countries.

More than 6,000 people have also reported defects in Babboe cargo bikes to a website set up by a legal firm to handle claims.