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Published On: Fri, Mar 3rd, 2023

Ansary announces he is ready to abide by billion-dollar court ruling

WILLEMSTAD — Parman international BV and its majority shareholder Hushang Ansary want to put a stop to the lawsuit brought against them by the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten. In a letter addressed to the Central Bank’s executive director José Jardim and board member Elisbeth Grimm, dated March 1, Parman’s attorney Mirto Murray writes that Parman has “a strong desire” to bring all legal proceedings to an end and that the company has authorized him “to declare its readiness to fully comply with the ruling of the Court in First Instance of November 29, 2021, on behalf of all defendants.”

Ansary’s settlement offer seems however not to be straightforward, as the letter furthermore states that Parman’s authorized representatives are prepared to take part in “appropriate meetings.” Those meetings should “formulate the necessary process for an accurate and timely completion” of the settlement.

The 2021 court ruling orders Ansary and others to repay more than 1 billion guilders to compensate insurance company Ennia for eighteen different financial irregularities. Other defendants mentioned in this court ruling are Ansary’s daughter Nina (director and shareholder in Parman Capital), Abdallah Andraous (Chief Financial Officer at Parman Capital and director of Parman International and Resorts Caribe, former director of Ennia Holding Ennia Investments and the insurance companies and former member of the holding’s investment committee), Gijsbert van Doorn (former Chief Executive Officer of Ennia Holding, the insurance companies and member of the investment committee, and former director of Ennia Investments) and Ralph Palm (former director of Ennia Holding and member of its investment committee, former director of the insurance companies and Ennia Investments).

The ruling does not contain any provision to, for instance, repay the damages in installments but Ansary’s proposal to hold “appropriate meetings” suggests that Parman wishes to negotiate conditions for the settlement.

The Antilliaans Dagblad wrote that the proposal for a settlement has surprised “friend and foe.” The newspaper wonders how serious the offer really is.

“Many wonder how serious Ansary’s offer is,” the newspaper wrote. Its article points out that there have been several proposals in the past and that Ansary, after initially agreeing, withdrew from these agreements at the last moment.

The newspaper furthermore notes that the settlement-letter was also sent to the prime ministers of Curacao and Sint Maarten and to the ministers of finance of both countries. “This suggest a high level of seriousness,” the paper concludes, though it keeps wondering whether Ansary is really going to pay.

In January, Ansary’s 56-year old daughter Nina filed a lawsuit against the Central Bank in the US district Court for the District of Columbia in an attempt to protect her multi-million dollar 15.9 percent stake in Parman. The lawsuit alleges that the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten “unlawfully retained control of private assets” and that it “orchestrated the sale to a notorious money launderer tied to a Central Bank-official.”

It is unclear whether this lawsuit will become a part of Parman’s proposed negotiations with the Central Bank.

Read further our Opinion piece entitled “Tricky business“.

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Photo caption: Hushang Ansary outside courthouse in Curacao. Archive photo AntilliaansDagblad Oct 2021.