More Crime, Corruption and Cover Up in Aruba … Say it Isn’t So … Henry Eman & Former Minister Tico Croes Acquitted from Violation of the Accountability Ordinance

Does it really surprise anyone that a “Judge” would acquit government officials in Aruba for possible crimes and corruption? Is it really possible for any justice to occur on “One Happy Island”. It appears to be not what crime one committed, or what evidence there is against you … but who do you know and what power do you have. Justice is supposed to be blind … NOT IGNORANT and CORRUPT!

From the sentences, the OM realized that “it pays for the government not keeping the books univocally, while in fact, a financial mismanagement (lack of approved annual accounts with corresponding budgets) leads to criminal immunity”.  This bears the OM big concern, “not only in this case, but also for the current situation and in the future. 

OM is considers appealing: ‘Government’s non univocal accounting pays’  (Amigoe: 3/12/2008)

Member of Parliament Otmar Oduber (AVP) will remain in Parliament, now that he is acquitted from bribery in the Fondo Desaroyo Nobo criminal case.

ORANJESTAD – The Public Prosecutor (OM) is not pleased with the verdicts in the Fondo Desaroyo Nobo (FDN) criminal case and considers appealing.  Ten of the seventeen suspects were convicted to conditional punishments.  The other seven, including Otmar Oduber (AVP) were acquitted.  He cried with happiness but also with frustration for the ‘four years of misery that the MEP-government had done to him and his family’. 

However, the OM is not pleased with the sentences of Oduber, former premier Henny Eman, and former minister Tico Croes, whom were all acquitted from violation of the Accountability Ordinance.  In this case, it is about overrunning the budget in 1999 and 2000 and also the illegal creation of a budget fund for the FDN-program.  But the judge says that the OM had not proofed that the budgets were overran.  The budgets and the annual accounts could not be compared with each other, because there were no approved annual accounts in 1999, 2000, and also 2001.  There is also no proof that the 6 million florins that cabinet-Eman reserved every year, was a maximum amount that the government was authorized to spend on FDN-projects.  The judge was also of the opinion that former premier Croes was not required to lawfully create a budget fund to regulate the financing. 

From the sentences, the OM realized that “it pays for the government not keeping the books univocally, while in fact, a financial mismanagement (lack of approved annual accounts with corresponding budgets) leads to criminal immunity”.  This bears the OM big concern, “not only in this case, but also for the current situation and in the future.  We need to see to what extent the criminal justice is an adequate means to promote good public finances.” 

The OM is also going to look into the sentences of the four former civil servants of the ministry of Finance, namely the case against Lionel Richardson, Nilknarf Kock, Filomeno Sint Jago, and Mariano Arendsz.  All four were acquitted due to lack of evidence.  The OM is considering appealing all the acquittals, but will come with a definite decision in March 24.