PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Court of First Instance will hand down its verdict in the “Aquamarine II” criminal case against former Member of Parliament F.R. on November 16, 2021.
F.R. stands accused of accepting bribes and intentionally participating in a contract or the supply of services while he, as a member of parliament, was charged with the ultimate supervision of country assets.
The Prosecutor’s Office has requested a sentence of 24 months and a four-year ban on F.R. standing for public office (i.e. being a candidate in an election). The confiscation of criminal proceedings worth of US $113,105.56 is also sought in this case. Furthermore, the confiscation of criminal proceedings, worth of US $370.000, is sought in the Emerald case against F.R.
During the court hearings last week, a witness L.B., who was questioned by the Judge, was arrested on suspicion of perjury (lying under oath).
“Aquamarine II” is a smaller part of the bigger “Aquamarine I” case and focuses, among other things, on the suspicion that F.R. had requested substantial sums of money from a construction company after the insurance company paid for repairs of storm damage to the building in which the government-owned company is located. This concerns repair of damage caused by Hurricane Irma.
The “Aquamarine I” case is still ongoing and focuses on A.C. and other suspects.
This investigation was started by the Kingdom Cooperation Team RST under the leadership by the Anti-Corruption Taskforce TBO of the Attorney-General’s Office of Curacao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
TBO specializes in tackling corruption and undermining financial economic crime. The taskforce also investigates fraud, forgery, and money laundering.
