From Caribbean News Now

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao — Justice officials and police officers concluded extensive searches on Wednesday at the residence of Central Bank of Curacao and St Maarten (CBCS) president Emsley Tromp and an office address of Gregory Elias in Curacao, on suspicion of tax fraud and money laundering.

Tromp has been president of CBCS and its predecessor, the Bank of the Netherlands Antilles (BNA), for decades.

Elias is considered the richest man in Curacao and has grown in offering trust services. Both have regularly come into disrepute. Tromp is a customer of Elias’ trust business.

The searches were conducted from Wednesday morning until late in the afternoon.

Fraud and money laundering

The reason for the raids, according to a spokesman for the Public Prosecution (OM), is a criminal investigation that was started against Tromp since early this year. According to the OM, Tromp is suspected of tax fraud and money laundering.

The raids were carried out by the so-called Anti-Corruption Team, which is a unit of police and justice that specializes in tackling corruption. The investigation is led by the Dutch public prosecutor Saskia de Vries.

‘Viceroy of Curacao’

Tromp is considered the most powerful man in Curacao. His nickname is ‘The Viceroy of Curacao’. He became a person of interest for the Public Prosecution. In March 2012, the prosecutor, in criminal proceedings in the Netherlands against billionaire John Deuss, focused on the remarkable leniency Tromp showed towards the controversial First Curacao International Bank (FCIB) owned by Deuss. It appeared that Tromp met with Deuss after working hours and outside the office. Deuss was later convicted.

Rumours have been spread in the Dutch Antilles for years about how Tromp would benefit himself and his family members. However, corruption investigations at the Central Bank have always reached a dead end.

Several months ago, a Dutch newspaper, the Financial Journal, revealed that the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) has major concerns about the state of affairs in the Dutch Caribbean islands. According to a DNB report, the largest insurer in the Dutch Caribbean, Ennia, was secretly undermined by its majority shareholder Ansary, under the watch of the Central Bank.

The story goes that Tromp, in return, would have received perquisites from Ansary. Tromp apparently bought apartments in Miami with flexible financing from companies affiliated with institutions that are under his supervision.

Conflict with banker

Tromp stated earlier that all allegations against him, including the DNB criticism, are coming from Eric Garcia, a banker who Tromp dismissed when Giro Bank came under his supervision. Garcia was recently arrested on charges of bankruptcy fraud.

Insiders report that Garcia has made some serious declarations against Tromp during his interrogations. Garcia claims that Tromp’s residence, which was raided on Wednesday, was remodeled at the expense of the Central Bank.

The spokesman of the Public Prosecutor in Curacao says that the criminal investigations against Tromp and Garcia are separate issues.

On Thursday, Tromp again denied the accusations against him. However, in the public interest, and specifically the interest of CBCS, Tromp has decided to take a vacation and in this way fully cooperate with the investigation executed by the Public Prosecution.

Pursuant to article 19 subsection 5 of the bank’s statutes, J. Hasselmeyer has been appointed as interim president until further notice.

SOURCE: Curacao Chronicle

IMAGE: Emsley Tromp

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