WILLEMSTAD – Attorneys representing Shurendy Adelson “Tyson” Quant say they need significantly more time to study the massive Themis investigation before the criminal case against the alleged No Limit Soldiers leader can move toward substantive proceedings.
During Monday’s first pro forma hearing, attorney Eldon Peppie Sulvaran pointed out that prosecutors have spent years working on the Themis investigation, while Quant’s defense team only recently received the extensive case file.
The material includes approximately thirteen individual case files, a main investigation file, Quant’s personal dossier and a large volume of encrypted digital communications.
Quant participated in the Curaçao proceedings through a live video connection from the Extra Secure Institution in Vught, where he remains detained.
He was accompanied in the Netherlands by attorney Guy Weski, while Eldon Peppie Sulvaran and Athena Sulvaran represented him in Curaçao.
The judge made clear at the start of the hearing that Quant’s detention in the Netherlands does not change the jurisdiction of the proceedings: this remains a Curaçao criminal case.
Extradition Documents Requested
Sulvaran asked prosecutors to provide a Dutch translation of the United Arab Emirates decision under which Quant was ultimately extradited.
The defense also requested records from two interrogations conducted with Quant following his arrival in the Netherlands.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, those two interrogation records will still be added to Quant’s personal file. Any outstanding extradition documents must also be provided to the defense.
Prosecutors told the court that the Themis case file in its present form is “more or less the final case file.”
According to the prosecution, there is no continuing investigation within Themis expected to produce large new quantities of evidence.
Possible Money Laundering Charge
One issue that remains unresolved is whether Quant will face a separate money laundering charge.
Money laundering is currently mentioned as one of the crimes that the alleged criminal organization is accused of pursuing, but it has not yet been included as an independent charge against Quant.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office said it is still considering the issue and expects to clarify within four weeks whether an additional money laundering case file will be introduced.
Quant, meanwhile, exercised his right to remain silent during Monday’s proceedings.
Court Keeps Quant Detained
After a short recess, the judge ruled that Quant must remain in pretrial detention.
The court found that the case file currently contains sufficiently serious indications against him and that the legal grounds for continued detention remain.
The judge did, however, remove the so-called investigative ground as one of the reasons for detention.
The defense did not yet mount a substantive challenge against Quant’s continued detention, emphasizing that it first needs to properly examine the evidence.
That task is expected to include a detailed review of the encrypted PGP communications on which prosecutors are relying heavily.
The defense has requested the entire Themis communications dataset rather than only the messages selected by the prosecution. Prosecutors have agreed that access can be provided.
The next hearing has been scheduled for November 27 at 8:00 a.m. Curaçao time.
It will again be a pro forma hearing. A case-management hearing and the eventual substantive trial will come later, giving the defense additional time to work through one of Curaçao’s most extensive criminal case files.