WILLEMSTAD – The supervisory board of the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) has identified ten international firms as potential candidates to conduct an independent investigation into the agreement with Random Consulting Limited, the Malta-based gaming consultancy linked to Mario Galea.
Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas announced during a press conference that the final decision will be made by the CGA supervisory board, which will select one of the ten firms to carry out the investigation. The names of the companies have not been disclosed.
According to Pisas, the candidates are internationally recognized investigative firms. The government accountant SOAB was not approached because the organization already performs several assignments for the Curaçao government.
The investigation follows the public dispute between Minister of Finance Charles Cooper and his predecessor Javier Silvania regarding payments connected to the modernization of Curaçao’s online gaming sector.
Cooper recently raised questions about an alleged annual payment of ANG 8.3 million to a person or company in Malta and questioned what services were provided in exchange for the amount.
Both Silvania and Mario Galea have rejected the claim that ANG 8.3 million is paid annually. Random Consulting previously stated that the company has received approximately €3.4 million in total since 2022 for work related to the reform and modernization of Curaçao’s online gaming framework.
The independent investigation must clarify the details of the agreement, including the amounts paid, the services provided by Random Consulting, who approved the contract and under what authority the agreement was concluded.
Pisas stated that he personally does not have a copy of the agreement with Random Consulting. According to the prime minister, the decision to release the contract publicly rests with the Curaçao Gaming Authority, which operates as an independent administrative body separate from direct government control.
The investigation will also need to examine the timeline of the agreement. Random Consulting has stated that its work for Curaçao began in 2022, while the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK) only entered into force on December 24, 2024. On that date, the former Gaming Control Board continued its activities under the new name Curaçao Gaming Authority.
However, this does not automatically mean that no authorized party could have entered into an agreement in 2022. Before the LOK came into force, the Gaming Control Board already had responsibilities related to supervision within parts of the gaming sector.
The investigation is expected to determine which organization entered into the agreement, what arrangements were made and whether the procedures followed were appropriate.
The ANG 8.3 million annual figure mentioned by Cooper has not been publicly supported by documents so far. The agreement, invoices and reports detailing the work performed have also not been released.
It remains unclear when the CGA supervisory board will select the investigative firm, how long the investigation will take and whether the final report will be made fully public.