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WILLEMSTAD – The Common Court of Justice has sentenced former Central Bank President Dr. Emsley Tromp on appeal to a 6-month conditional prison sentence for using a forged loan-agreement to enrich himself.
The court ruled that Tromp has seriously damaged the trust the community should be able to have in a person in his position. Tromp, who is 66, currently lives in the United States.
René Lourents, at the time adjunct director for corporate relations and facilities management at the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten (CBCS) established the Curacao Fashion Group at Tromp’s request on March 12, 2009. On June 3, 2009, the Fashion Group deposited $400,000 into Tromp’/s pension fund, claiming that this was repayment for a loan.
Banco di Caribe had granted the $400,000 loan to the Curacao Fashion Group, shortly after the establishment of this company. But on the same day the money disappeared to a foreign bank account where Tromp had parked his pension fund.
The deceptive objective was to help Tromp’s former fiancée Yanet de Castro to open a clothing store in Curacao. The relationship between Tromp and De Castro ended in 2011.
After the Court in First Instance sentenced Tromp to a 6-month conditional prison sentence, he went on appeal but the higher court returned an identical verdict.
The CBCS suspended Lourents for his involvement in de scheme, declaring him medical unfit to continue in his function. Lourents took early retirement and now lives of a disability allowance.
The appeals court notes in its ruling that Tromp has no prior convictions and that he lost his social position as a respected president of the Central Bank as a result of the investigation against him. The ruling notes that, due to his conviction, Tromp’s residency in the United States has also become uncertain.
Tromp was first interrogated about the suspicion against him on October 26, 2016. The appeals court handed down its verdict 9 years and 4 month later, on February 26, 2026. The court found no basis fo the argument that Tromp was the victim of political prosecution.
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