WILLEMSTAD — The enforcement department of the Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) has reached out to the Gaming Control Board in Curacao for help in the battle against online casino operators that continue to violate the Dutch Betting and Gaming Act. KSA has investigated several web sites that illegally provide online games of chance in the Netherlands. “Several of these illegal operators are licensed in Curacao,” Ella Seijsener, the head of the enforcement department writes in a letter to Eduardo Vliegen at the Gaming Control Board in Curacao. The letter states that three operators have ceased their illegal operation in the…
Author: The Publisher
ORANJESTAD — Arubabank is entitled to refuse opening a bank account for BCY Entertainment, a company of former Minister of Urban Planning, Infrastructure and Environment Otmar Oduber, the court of appeals ruled on October 31. The Court in First Instance ruled in 2021 that Arubabank had to open such an account and the bank complied; but it appealed the ruling. BCY Entertainment is operating a food court in Aruba that consists of several restaurants and bars that are housed on containers. After Oduber resigned as a minister and left politics in 2019 he established JDDS, a consultancy firm. Due to…
PHILIPSBURG — St. Maarten-born artist Deborah Jack is one of eighteen recipients of a 2023 Soros Arts Fellowship from the New York-based Open Society Foundations that comes with a grant of $100,000. Jack received the fellowship for her project To make a map of my memory, wayfinding along synaptic topographies. The project links cultural memory preservation in St. Maarten with climate justice through an archive of oral histories, a connected film and multimedia installation. On its website the Open Societies Foundations describe Jack as a multidisciplinary artist whose work includes video installations, photography and text. “Her practice engages a variety…
GHANA/ST. MAARTEN — On October 14, 2023, in a momentous display of cultural and spiritual significance, former Pastor and Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport of Sint Maarten, Wycliffe Smith, was installed as a chieftain in Ahwerase, Ghana. The appointment, which took place during the Odwira Festival, was upon the recommendation of the Global United Christian Congress of Africa and the Diaspora (GUCCAD). Prior to his installation, Smith met with the Paramount Chief and other tribal leaders to acquaint himself with the duties and ceremonial importance of his new role. The day of the installation was a vivid tapestry…
Sint Maarten – The Board of the United People’s (UP) Party strongly condemns the malicious rhetoric and disingenuous statements peddled by individuals willing to deceive the people of Sint Maarten for their gain. It is crucial to address these actions that serve as a distraction from the real issues facing our nation. The Board has taken note of the various levels of slander, gossip, and dishonesty perpetuated by individuals, some of whom have thankfully severed ties with the United People’s Party. The UP Party is a party of inclusion and firmly believes in giving life to truth. We must guide our…
PHIIPSBURG — Emiko Bird-Lake has been appointed as Acting Governor. The Kingdom Council of Ministers approved her nomination for the position on Friday. Bird-Lake was born in St. Maarten in 1971. She studied medicine at Leiden University and specialized as a cardiologist at the Free University Medical Center in Amsterdam. She currently works as a cardiologist at the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) and the Saba Cares medical center. Bird-Lake is coordinator of the intensive care department at the SMMC; she is a medical advisor and board member of the St. Maarten Heart and Stroke Foundation and a member of…
WILLEMSTAD — Maduro & Curiel’s Bank (MCB) settled the so-called dollar-swiping case with the Public Prosecutor’s Office for 25 million guilders (close to $14 million). Because of the settlement, the bank will not be prosecuted for its role in this activity. Between 2007 and 2015 Venezuelans pinned purchases on a large scale outside of their country with special credit cards. “In reality they did not buy anything but in exchange for their payments they received American dollars in cash,” the Prosecutor’s Office states in a press release. These dollars were worth multiple times their face value in Venezuela. “This way…
WILLEMSTAD – Ennia’s Chief Executive Officer Lesley Ann Harms-Brodie has urged Central Bank President Richard Doornbosch and Minister of Finance Javier Silvania to keep Elisabeth Grimm on board for the Ennia dossier, the Antilliaans Dagblad reports. Grimm is on loan from the Dutch Central Bank and functions as division manager resolution at the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten (CBCS). She is considered as the ultimate expert on the dispute between Ennia and its majority shareholder Hushang Ansary. The Antilliaans Dagblad reported already in April that Doornbosch intended to terminate Grimm’s contract even though there was still no replacement.…
PHILIPSBURG — Former politician and founder of the United People’s party (UP) Theo Heyliger will pay the Public Prosecutor’s Office $5 million and await a summons to start serving a 5-year prison sentence, it appears from a press release issued by the prosecutor’s office. The deal is part of a settlement that puts an end to Heyliger’s prosecution in the Larimar and Catfish investigations. Heyliger will also waive the rights to rental income from several immovable properties. On May 15, 2020, the Court in First Instance sentenced Heyliger to 5 years of imprisonment for taking bribes and for money laundering.…
PHILIPSBURG — St. Maarten will issue a bond loan of 60,854,000 guilders against 3.4 percent interest on November 10. The duration of the loan is 20 years. The subscription to the loan opens on November 2 for the Dutch Agency of the General Treasury. The public will have until Friday November 3 at 10 a.m. to subscribe via all commercial banks in Curacao and St. Maarten. After the subscription closes the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten (CBCS) will announce the issue price. Parties that subscribed above the issue price will receive their full share. The remaining amount of…
