WILLEMSTAD – The Court of First Instance is expected to rule within two weeks on whether the Curaçao government was justified in barring Gabriel Murray, sector director for Agriculture, Environment and Nature (LMN) at the Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature (GMN), from entering his workplace.
Murray was suspended at the end of May and denied access to the ministry amid an escalating dispute concerning financial transactions and alleged irregularities within GMN. Local media previously reported that the government’s action against Murray was connected to questions surrounding project expenditures.
According to the Antilliaans Dagblad, Murray was confronted with allegations that approximately Cg 350,000 had been transferred from funds intended for the “accelerated agriculture” project, part of the Country Package initiative concerning food security, without sufficient explanation. Murray reportedly had responsibility for approximately Cg 1.7 million in project funds.
Murray has disputed the allegations and has publicly accused senior officials within GMN of irregular conduct. He maintains that financial transactions were discussed and facilitated while he had effectively been sidelined from certain decision-making processes.
Government records add another dimension to the dispute. GMN’s 2025 mandate register lists Murray as sector director of LMN and gives him unlimited authority for documents relating to several organizational units under his sector.
The conflict goes beyond the disputed agriculture expenditures.
Murray previously filed several reports with Curaçao’s National Detectives concerning alleged irregularities within GMN. Local media reported that some of those allegations relate to possible document falsification and the government’s “Di Bo, Pa Bo, Ku Bo” cleanup campaign.
According to earlier reporting, suppliers involved in that project may have been contracted or paid without all required procurement documentation, including purchase orders. Murray was reportedly asked to approve invoices afterward despite allegedly having been kept outside parts of the project. These remain allegations and have not been established by a court.
The timing of Murray’s removal has also become part of the controversy. Reports indicate that he was suspended and denied access to his workplace after approaching the National Detectives with information about alleged wrongdoing.
The court must now determine whether the government had sufficient grounds to impose the workplace access ban on the senior civil servant.
A decision is expected within two weeks.