Van Huffelen puts Ennia-pensioners at ease

PHILIPSBURG – The 30,000 Ennia-clients in St. Maarten and Curacao do not have to worry about their pensions. This appears from the statement State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen (Kingdom Relations) made in a meeting with Caribbean journalists that the pensions are secure.

The Netherlands is currently working together with the governments of Curacao and St. Maarten on a solution for Ennia’s solvency deficit, she said according to a report published by dossierkoninkrijksrelaties.nl.

The state secretary did not say how the governments intend to solve the deficit – estimated to be between €600 and €700 million ($672 to $784 million). Curacao and St. Maarten do not have the means to fill the gap on their own. The matter is part of the negotiations about the refinancing of the corona-loans.

Ennia got into financial trouble because its majority shareholder, the Iranian-American businessman Hushang Ansary robbed it blindly while the supervising Central Bank did nothing – or at least, not enough – to stop him.

The court in Curacao ordered Ansary to repay 1 billion guilders (close to $559 million) to the company but he has appealed the verdict. The ruling, initially set for June 6, has been postponed until an unspecified later date.