PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance denied casino owner Francesco Corallo’s request to stop the sale of three boats he owns in a ruling dated January 10 that was recently published on rechtspraak.nl. The sale takes place at the request of the prosecutor in Rome who seeks €215.4 million ($244.3 million) in unlawful profits from the businessman. The dispute about three boats that belong to Corallo is already more than two years old. On December 13, 2016, the prosecutor in Rome requested that his colleagues in St. Maarten confiscate three boats under the rule of “confiscation by equivalent of…
Author: The Publisher
DUTCH QUARTER — The business owners and residents are complaining about the deplorable conditions of the Dutch Quarter road. According to some residents the contractor who is responsible for the road had promised them that the road would have been completed within three weeks. “The project started since November 12 last year was expected to be completed before Christmas. To date we are unable to get about our business because of the trenching which makes it dangerous to drive on the road, said one resident. “We are losing business,” said one businessman. By the time they are finished we will…
PHILIPSBURG — “There is an urgent need to invest in the national infrastructure and the economy,” said Governor Eugene Holiday during the opening ceremonies of the Windward Islands Bank Bush Road Branch. He stated that the significance of the event is more than the official opening of a new bank branch. The governor pointed out that the opening demonstrates the continued confidence of the economy as well as a vital role of in advancing St, Maarten digital infrastructure for social economic growth. He reminisced on what Bush Road looked like when he grew up in the area as a boy.…
PHILIPSBURG—Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin in her address to the people of St. Maarten on the vote of no-confidence against her government by the National Alliance faction in the Parliament said that she has the support of all the ministers of the Council of Ministers. The draft motion vote of no confidence was tabled by Member of Parliament William Marlin while the Prime Minister was at the Parliament to answer questions regarding the restructuring of the Princess Juliana International Airport. She read the entire draft motion of no confidence and noted that immediately after the hurricanes her government had soften the…
NAGICO’s leadership in catastrophe claims management affirmed as voted #1 insurance company for the 12th year in a row in St. Maarten Philipsburg, Sint Maarten – February 7, 2019 – NAGICO Insurances, a diversified insurance group serving 21 territories in the Caribbean, is proud to announce that it’s Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating has been upgraded to bbb+ by A.M. Best. A.M. Best’s Rating Services evaluated both the financial and non-financial risks within NAGICO’s business and in its press release earlier today, A.M. Best stated that, “the ratings of NAGICO Group reflect its balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as…
PHILIPSBURG – St. Maarten is the only member of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) that can be considered a risk to the framework of anti-money laundering and the fight against the financing of terrorism. That sobering message came on Thursday morning from Dawne Spicer, the CFATF’s executive director during a central committee meeting about cross-border money transfers. “It is important to look at the legislation,” Spicer warned, adding that the fourth mutual evaluation of the situation in St. Maarten is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023. “That evaluation deals with the implementation of the legislation.” The central…
PHILIPSBURG—The entire Dutch Kingdom will support the interim President of Venezuela Juan Guaido said Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin during the Council of Ministers Press Conference on Wednesday. According to her certain actions are being taken to ensure Venezuelans have access to food and other commodities. What was not mentioned is if there will be funding by the Netherlands to take care of the Venezuelans who enter into the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles. Prime Minister Romeo-Marlin has promised to send a press release to the media houses on the island of any updates. Quite recently there were reports that…
PHILIPSBURG – The harbor currently has $25 million in liquid assets, its Chief Financial Officer Ton van Kooten told members of the parliamentary committee for tourism and /economic affairs on Wednesday morning. He said that up to august 2017 the port was operating close to break-even but that Hurricane Irma caused the company to close the year with a $10 million loss. In 2018, the port booked a modest profit of $1.9 million. While the port is able to pay its operational costs, Van Kooten noted that for a $300 million-facility a profit of just $1.9 million is marginal. Minister…
PHILIPSBURG – United St. Maarten party MP Frans Richardson suggested that during a central committee meeting on Tuesday that GEBE establish a new company for the production of renewable energy and give the people of St. Maarten the opportunity to participate in it. “People would love to get a return on investment in their own country,” the MP said. Richardson also asked what the possibilities are for local banks to finance Gebe’s needs. He furthermore addressed the issue of renewable energy. “How far is Gebe with its plan for that 4 Megawatt solar park? It is time for Gebe to…
PHILIPSBURG – Utilities company GEBE is looking for a new insurance broker after it found out that its pre-Irma insurance covered damages caused by hail and snow but not damages caused by wind speed, the company’s chief Financial Officer, Iris Arrindell told a stunned parliamentary central committee on Tuesday afternoon. In spite of this rather awkward revelation, Gebe’s management team – consisting next to Arrindell of Chief Executive Officer Kendrick Chittick and Chief Operation Officer Veronica Jansen-Webster – received little criticism from parliamentarians who showered the managers and Vromi-minister Miklos Giterson with questions (see related story). The meeting will continue…
