WILLEMSTAD - The Public Prosecution Service has demanded a three-year prison sentence for Emsley Tromp, former president of the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Tromp is also prohibited from holding any position in a financial institution for six years. Former interim director Rene Lourents also faced a demand of two and a half years of imprisonment and a three-year ban on exercising a financial function.
During the handling of the Hercules case yesterday, it became clear that Tromp and Lourents are accused of bribery, document forgery, and money laundering. The charges include amounts of four hundred thousand dollars and 2.1 million dollars, which they allegedly embezzled through false documents and transfers to Tromp's pension accounts.
The Public Prosecution Service alleges that the two former top executives approached a Venezuelan bank, Enpiso, to assist them in facilitating a bail deposit at Banko Caribe. This was seen as a favor to benefit the bank. "Lourents falsified the documents to make this transaction possible," said the Public Prosecution Service.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, Tromp and Lourents committed serious criminal offenses. "The main point in this case is that they, as high government officials, attempted to obtain a large commission in 2015," said the prosecutor. This they did by abusing their positions at one of the most important financial institutions in Sint Maarten and Curaçao.
"Through their actions, Tromp and Lourents severely compromised the integrity of their positions," continued the prosecutor. "They did not hesitate to forge documents and attempt to present them as legal."
The prosecutor emphasized that such practices are highly damaging to a country's economy. "It takes honest government employees time to repair the damage caused," he said. "Both suspects did this for their own financial gain."
The Public Prosecution Service sees no reason to give the suspects a lighter sentence given their high positions at the Central Bank. "They deserve the same punishment, namely imprisonment," concluded the prosecutor.