WILLEMSTAD – New questions are emerging over the sale of the former Sint Elisabeth Hospital (Sehos) complex after Minister of Traffic, Transport and Urban Planning Charles Cooper told Parliament that the Curaçao government offered XCG 15 million for the property, only for the bankruptcy trustee to sell it to a private company for XCG 10 million.
Cooper told Parliament on Monday that the government is considering filing a complaint against the trustee handling the bankruptcy of Stichting Sint Elisabeth.
According to the minister, Curaçao submitted the highest bid for the former hospital complex at XCG 15 million. Nevertheless, trustee Danilo Castro Narvaez ultimately sold two parcels comprising the property to Otrabanda Village B.V. for XCG 10 million.
The notarial deed shows that the transaction involved two parcels totaling more than 23,000 square meters. Parcel B3497 measures 15,244 square meters, while B3498 covers 8,174 square meters.
The purchase agreement between the trustee and Otrabanda Village was originally concluded on March 2, 2026, and was amended or renewed on June 19. The transfer took place on June 30.
However, the documents also show that the trustee did not act without judicial oversight. The supervisory judge in the Sehos bankruptcy approved the transaction, initially on February 13 and again on June 18.
That raises an important question following Cooper's criticism: whether the supervisory judge knew about the government's alleged XCG 15 million offer when final approval was given for the XCG 10 million transaction.
The available notarial documents do not mention the government's XCG 15 million bid. They record only the transaction that was ultimately completed.
Cooper said the trustee preferred the private offer because payment from the government would have taken longer, in part because the government first needed to arrange the necessary funding through a supplementary budget.
The minister also said the government eventually acquired the complex for XCG 13 million after negotiating with the private buyers.
However, the notarial deeds currently available do not document that subsequent XCG 13 million acquisition by the Country of Curaçao.
That missing documentation has become particularly significant because the original Sehos property was divided between two private owners only six days after its sale by the trustee.