PHILIPSBURG – Theo Heyliger is prosecuted on the basis of statements by a suspect who is protected by the Public Prosecution and who receives benefits as a crown witness while the legislation of St. Maarten does not provide for a crown witness scheme. This is stated by Heyliger’s lawyer, Eldon ‘Peppi’ Sulvaran, who asks the court to declare the Public Prosecutor inadmissible in the Larimar case. The Public Prosecution has violated Theo Heyliger’s right to a fair trial, says Sulvaran. “There is abundant proof that Dutch construction consultant Ronald Maasdam has been the pivot in the web for years. He…
Author: The Publisher
~ Travel restrictions to the destination stepped-up from 14 to 21 days. EOC to Meet Thursday and MPs to be informed ~ GREAT BAY – The travel restrictions which were issued by the Government of Sint Maarten have now been increased from 14 to 21-days, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs disclosed on Wednesday. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will be meeting on Thursday and a meeting will be held with Members of Parliament (MPs) to provide them with an update on national preparations for COVID-19. Jacobs said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday declared that the coronavirus COVID-19 is now…
PHILIPSBURG — The Cooperative Republic of Guyana has appointed Mrs. Kim Lucas as the Honorary Consul to St. Maarten. Guyana is a South American country that forms part of the Caribbean nations. Lucas is the deputy principal for the St. Maarten Academy academic section and has been in education for as much as 18 years. “I am humbled and at the same time proud that my country has chosen me to become their representative in St. Maarten. This gives me the opportunity to serve the Government of Guyana although not living in the country at this time,” Lucas said. She…
PHILIPSBURG — De zaak Larimar gaat over corruptie in Sint Maarten. Het gaat over betalingen van steekpenningen rondom een aantal grote bouwprojecten en het witwassen daarvan. Er zijn verschillende personen bij betrokken. Uitleg over de zaak en de feiten waarvoor vervolging is ingesteld is te vinden in het bij dit bericht gevoegde animatie. https://youtu.be/A2XnDrhFTVA. Geëiste straffen Vandaag heeft de officier van justitie gerequireerd in de zaken tegen de verdachten H., P., E. en B. De officier heeft tegen verdachte H een gevangenis straf gevraagd voor de duur van zes jaren en zes maanden en tevens een vordering aangekondigd tot het…
~ Prosecutor demands prison time in ‘LARIMAR’ investigation ~ PHILIPSBURG — The Anti-Corruption Team (TBO, Team Bestrijding Ondermijning) has issued a public statement via the office of the Public Prosecution Service in Bonaire outlining the details of the LARIMAR case about corruption in Sint Maarten together with an animation video explaining what the corruption case is all about. According to the press release the Larimar case is about corruption in Sint Maarten. It concerns payments of bribes around several major construction projects and money laundering. Several individuals are suspects in this case. Explanation of the case and evidence brought forward…
~ Six years and six months in prison demanded against Theo Heyliger ~ PHILIPSBURG – The Public Prosecutor in the Larimar case demands six years and six months in prison against Theo Heyliger for taking over 3 million dollars in bribes and money laundering. If the judge agrees with the prosecution’s request, Heyliger will be immediately imprisoned after the ruling on April 24. According to the prosecutor, his health problems do not form a barrier to detention. The Public Prosecution states that it has demanded a long-term prison sentence because Heyliger refused to cooperate and give full disclosure during the…
PHILIPSBURG – Defendant in the Larimar case Theo Heyliger remembers that building consultant Ronald Maasdam brought stroopwafels for him from the Netherlands. But envelopes with banknotes, no, he never received them, according to Heyliger. Nevertheless, co-suspect JanHendrik Boekhaar, former CEO of construction company Windward Roads, believes that he saw Heyliger accept envelopes with money. Has he seen the banknotes? “No,” says Boekhaar, “but I now understand, after Maasdam’s interrogation by the judge, yesterday, why Maasdam and Heyliger always acted so mysteriously and Heyliger had to go to Maasdam’s car to get an envelope out of it.” Dutch construction consultant Ronald…
PHILIPSBURG – Bribery-suspect Theo Heyliger denied any wrongdoing during the second day of the Larimar-trial at the Belair Community Center. The denials of the former politician and founder of the United People’s party are diametrically opposed to statements made a day earlier by crown witness Ronald Maasdam. Heyliger said that he had only received donations from Maasdam for his political party during the run-up to elections. He claimed that Maasdam had not paid him for anything else, that he had had no involvement in the dredging contract for Devcon and that he did not, as Maasdam claimed, held any informal…
PHILIPSBURG — “A deal was a deal,” says Ronald Maasdam, crown witness in the Larimar case, about paying bribes to Theo Heyliger and the late Roy Marlin. For years, the Dutch building consultant delivered a newspaper several times a month, with an envelope with banknotes hidden inside it. Until he incited Heyliger’s anger by withholding several hundred thousand euros. The fight led Maasdam to leave St. Maarten. Today Ronald Maasdam (65) is back on the island for the first time after five years, as a crown witness and as a suspect. He is the last of five main suspects in…
PHILIPSBURG – The public prosecutor demanded a 3-year prison sentence on Monday against Ronald Maasdam, the 66-year old crown witness in the LARIMAR corruption trial. Maasdam implicated the late Roy Marlin and the founder of the United People’s party (UP) Theo Heyliger in the bribery schemes where he functioned as the middleman, collecting around 2.5 percent of the project price for his efforts. Initially he shared this money equally with Heyliger, later he kept one-third of the bribes. Maasdam said that he had paid bribes to Heyliger in cash with funds obtained through the Standard Trust Company, but that no…
