WILLEMSTAD – Finance Minister Charles Cooper says he wants the Public Prosecution Service (OM) to launch a criminal investigation into a Czech-based payment account used to receive funds from Curaçao's online gaming industry, calling the arrangement "very serious."
Speaking on Radio Direct on Wednesday, Cooper said the account is held in the name of the Country of Curaçao and is used to process cryptocurrency payments.
According to the Antilliaans Dagblad, the account is not a traditional bank account but is maintained with Payment Execution s.r.o., a Czech payment service provider.
The newspaper reported that the account may have been opened without the authorization required under government procedures. Cooper stated that the Council of Ministers never approved the opening of a foreign account in the name of the Country of Curaçao.
He further claimed that neither the Supervisory Board, the Board of Directors nor the former management of the Gaming Control Board—the predecessor of the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA)—were aware of the account.
It remains unclear when the account was established or who authorized its creation.
Cooper said he expects to hand over the available documentation to the Public Prosecution Service next week, stressing that prosecutors will ultimately decide whether to initiate a criminal investigation.
The Curaçao Gaming Authority has not publicly commented on the reported Czech account.