KRALENDIJK – The Court of First Instance in Bonaire has ordered an accounting firm and others to compensate construction company J.V. Construction after hundreds of thousands of dollars transferred for apparent tax payments were instead diverted to other recipients.
The case concerns payments made by J.V. Construction to Accountancy & Tax Partners B.V. (ATP) between 2020 and 2022.
According to the August 19 judgment, J.V. Construction transferred $70,549 in 2020, $141,848.60 in 2021 and $127,104 in 2022 to ATP. The court calculated the total at $339,501.60.
Payment descriptions indicated that the money was intended for ABB and payroll tax obligations.
However, according to the judgment, substantial amounts were subsequently transferred or paid in cash to a person associated with J.V. Construction, Vania Car Rentals B.V. and another individual.
The matter eventually became the subject of an investigation by the Dutch Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service, FIOD.
The court determined that $115,394.84 of the transferred funds had actually been paid to the Tax Administration on behalf of J.V. Construction. The remaining transactions formed the basis for the damages claims.
The court concluded that ATP and its director had breached their duty of care. It found that the unusual circumstances surrounding the instructions should have prompted the accounting firm to question the transactions and seek further clarification.
The court also found unlawful conduct by other parties involved and determined that another individual had been unjustly enriched.
ATP, its director and one of the other defendants were ordered jointly and severally to pay J.V. Construction $204,460.76, plus statutory interest dating from August 1, 2024.
Within that liability, another defendant was held jointly liable for $83,302.60, while Vania Car Rentals was held jointly liable for $42,255.16.
The defendants were also ordered to pay $7,456 in legal costs.
The ruling was issued on August 19 and published on August 24.