PHILIPSBURG — The Court of Appeals acquitted suspended Member of Parliament Claudius Buncamper in a ruling dated May 30 of tax fraud related to the Eco Green case. His wife, former Minister of Public health Maria Buncamper-Molanus was found guilty of similar charges in 2018. The Supreme Court confirmed her conviction in January 2021 but noted that her punishment – a 25,000 guilders (close to $14,000) fine and 240 hours for community service – ought to be lowered because the court took too long to handle her appeal on cassation. The acquittal in the Eco Green case is not the…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIAE) completed the refinancing of its 2012-loan with a celebration at the Mimosa Sky Lounge on Rhine Road. The airport secured a $90 million loan package from lenders in St. Maarten (46 percent), Curacao (44 percent) and Aruba (10 percent). AIB Bank arranged the loan and the RBC Trust of Trinidad and Tobago functioned as the facility and security agent. The airport’s chief financial officer, Ben van der Klift said that the new loan is “an important step forward and another vote of confidence. This also underscores our transformation into an airport with strong…
PHILIPSBURG — Acting Governor Reynold Groeneveldt unexpectedly passed away on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. News of his passing soon spread quickly throughout the legal community on the island. “With his passing, St. Maarten has suffered a great loss,” Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday said in a press statement. Groeneveldt started his career as a teacher, but he later went on to become a legal scholar, a respected attorney and a champion of St. Maarten’s constitution. He was also the initiator of the Legal Review pages on StMaartenNews.com. Publisher Terrance Rey said that Groeneveldt had just promised him another article for the…
PHILIPSBURG — What are the chances that the four countries in the Dutch Kingdom reach an agreement about the draft consensus kingdom law COHO? If you look at the criticism from the Caribbean side of the ocean, the answer is simple. Zero. But the untimely death of the Caribbean Organization for Reform and Development will not mark the end of Dutch interference in Caribbean affairs. No sir, the reform train has already left the station because the governments of St. Maarten, Curacao and Aruba have signed agreements for the execution of so-called country packages. In St. Maarten politicians voiced their…
PHILIPSBURG — With the public demanding answers about the cyber-attack at NV GEBE, Party for Progress (PFP) Member of Parliament (MP) Melissa Gumbs has called on Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Egbert J. Doran to answer questions the MP has sent in writing during Parliament’s Question Hour. “This attack on NV GEBE is a serious and constantly changing situation. It has been more than two months since it happened, and all the public really knows is that the main office is closed and the company is working to become operational,” said MP Gumbs. “This long-term…
PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten (23 May 2022) – Fighting and preventing further crimes in the community are not only dependent on putting (suspected) criminals behind bars; it is also essential to cut off the ill-acquired funds that drive criminality. The Prosecutor’s Office OM Sint Maarten is putting more emphasis on this front. Looking back over the past four years, a significant amount of money has been confiscated in various cases, ranging from as little as NAf 10 to US$232,900. From 2018 to 2021, approximately US$359,513.89 were taken from criminals or criminal-related activities. That total covers the amount also collected in Netherlands…
~ Legality of Nearly Two Years’ Worth of Documents Could Be in Question ~ PHILIPSBURG — On Tuesday, 17 May 2022, PFP member of Parliament Raeyhon Peterson sent questions to the Minister of VROMI, Egbert J. Doran, regarding the function of Secretary General of the Ministry of VROMI. Since 16 October 2020, the function of Acting Secretary General has been occupied by Mr. Kurt Ruan, whose primary role in the ministry is as the Department Head of New Projects. “The appointment of Mr. Ruan to the function of “Acting” Secretary General (SG) was handled in an email from the Minister…
PHILIPSBURG — “There are many indications that the underworld and legitimate society in St. Maarten are structurally intertwined.” On September 11, 2015, this statement by Attorney-General Guus Schram enraged Justice Minister Dennis Richardson. “Prove it or shut the hell up,” he said at the time. The parliament was not amused either. Almost three weeks after Schram’s statement, on September 30, the parliament passed a motion that asked “the competent authorities to invite Schram to resign. ”The motion contained statements like “St. Maarten consists of God-fearing law-abiding citizens” and “the lack of action by the office of the attorney-general to…
PHILIPSBURG — “I have done nothing wrong,” former harbor CEO Mark Mingo said in an interview with Billy D on SOS radio station 95.9 FM. In January, the Court in First Instance sentenced Mingo to 46 months of imprisonment and a ban on working for any government-owned company for a period of six years. The case is on appeal and the outcome of this process is expected on June 22. Mingo took the moral high ground by repeatedly expressing his respect for the prosecutor’s office and for the court. “The only one who can judge Mark Mingo is the court…
PHILIPSBURG — In 2009 a detailed draft report estimated there was a road network maintenance backlog worth at least 360 million guilders ($201.1 million). During the following twelve to thirteen years, the situation has only worsened. This appears from a General Audit Chamber audit into the allocation of motor vehicle taxes. The audit paints a devastating picture of the way successive governments have ignored the law. Based on the Motor Vehicle Tax Ordinance, road tax has to be allocated to a road fund. However, such a fund does not exist and a significant part of road tax revenue disappears into…
