WILLEMSTAD – Former parliamentarian Rennox Calmes is due to appear in court this afternoon as his criminal case moves into substantive hearings. The case was first addressed in a procedural session in late June, but today marks the start of its full treatment.

Calmes is accused of forging multiple payslips between March 2022 and February 2023. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, he allegedly falsified salary statements of three employees, either alone or in collaboration with others.

For one employee, identified as B., payslips were falsified five times between March and November 2022.

A second employee, P., saw three falsified slips between December 2021 and February 2022.

A third, J.V., reportedly received four falsified payslips.

In all cases, the falsifications involved inflating gross salary amounts.

The case has drawn significant public attention, partly because Calmes founded the political party Trabou pa Kòrsou (TPK) in 2021 after leaving the MAN party. In 2024, he became embroiled in fraud allegations that ultimately led to his resignation from Parliament.

Ahead of the trial, Calmes claimed he had not received an official summons and had to learn about the charges through the media.

With today’s hearing, the case is finally moving forward. The matter is listed last on the court’s agenda and will be heard later this afternoon.