WILLEMSTAD - The PAR faction has voiced strong criticism of a proposal approved by Minister Charles Cooper of Urban Planning, allegedly siphoning off one million guilders to friends of the political party MFK. This plan was presented to the government by the director of FKP with the blessing of the minister.
In a letter dated December 13, 2023, the FKP director proposed to the Minister of Finance to take over a claim of 19 million that FKP has on Giro Settlement Holding, with a direct payment of this amount to FKP, after which the government would attempt to collect the money from Giro.
Although this proposal may seem attractive at first glance, PAR member Quincy Girigorie emphasizes that it is a bad deal due to the minimal chance of recovering the full amount.
After paying out former clients of Giro with less than 1.2 million florins in their accounts, approximately 54 million florins would need to be distributed among thirty individuals with claims of more than 1.2 million florins. Creditors in such cases usually receive no more than ten percent of their claim. It raises questions whether the government of Curaçao is willing to "donate" 19 million to FKP and possibly see only a fraction of it returned.
The dubious nature of the proposal is reinforced by the fact that it leads to a scheme benefiting HD&M Holding, an entity closely linked to 'Very Good Friends' of MFK, including former Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte, who would receive at least one million of these funds. This appears to be the main reason behind FKP's letter to the government, according to Girigorie.
This situation raises the question of whether Minister Silvania will participate in this game with public funds, thus giving away even more money from the people to Very Good Friends of MFK, the parliamentarian concludes.