Wilsoe revokes authority of Attorney General Dick Piar

May 09, 2012 6:31 PM

WILLEMSTAD - A breach of confidence between Minister of Justice Elmer ‘Kadè’ Wilsoe and Attorney General Dick Piar led the minister to revoke the Attorney General’s authority as regards reciprocal legal assistance requests in criminal cases.

Minister Wilsoe stated the aforementioned at a press conference yesterday.Yesterday was the first time that the minister responded to reports on his letter to American authorities regard the attachment on bank accounts of Ponsford Overseas Ltd and Tula Finance Ltd. Both corporations belong to lottery boss Robbie dos Santos, who is suspected of illegal lotteries, money laundering and tax evasion in the Bientu-investigation.

Wilsoe brushed aside all accusations that he is interfering with a criminal investigation by the Public Prosecutor (OM). He explained he is certainly authorized to write the letter to the American authorities. He based this authority on a treaty between the Kingdom and the US that had been signed in 1993 by minister of Justice Suzy Römer in which legal assistance requests are delegated to the Attorney General. However, this delegated authority to the Attorney General was revoked the day before the letter of April 25th due to the breach of confidence.
 
Wilsoe stated that for some time there’d been doubts about the attachment placed by the Public Prosecutor on Dos Santos’ assets in the US. Wilsoe informed the Attorney General, the boss of the Public Prosecutor, of this in writing. “However, the Attorney General pursued his own course.” A definite turn occurred after the judgment of the Court in First Instance on April 4th last. The Court ruled that the attachment on the bank accounts of Dos Santos in July last year had been unlawful and therefore must be lifted. This is yet to happen. The Public Prosecutor paraded an authorization of the examining magistrate that the attachment on the corporations remains. However, the minister states this is not the case. “They’ve added the authorization to place an attachment on the corporations to the request for attachment on Dos Santos’ bank accounts. This is not allowed. The Public Prosecutor is free to seize the bank accounts of corporations; I’ll not obstruct the Public Prosecutor from doing so, but one cannot rectify an unlawful attachment by adding other documents. The Public Prosecutor is to start new proceedings for this attachment.” Wilsoe based his viewpoint on jurisprudence of the Supreme Court.
 
“Nobody took action while the Public Prosecutor was acting unlawfully. Nothing happened even after the judge had ruled. In the end the government will be liable for possible claims”, said the minister. Even when Wilsoe gave Attorney General Piar a mandate to lift the attachment, the latter refused such because in his opinion it’s a violation of the constitutional state. As a result, the breach of confidence between the minister and Piar had come to a head and Wilsoe revoked the Attorney General’s authority to take action.
 
“You won’t hear me whine when the Public Prosecutor is following the correct path. However, nobody – including the Public Prosecutor – is above the law. I’m only observing the law.”
 
Wilsoe quotes the recent articles from lawyer Eldon ‘Peppie’ Sulvaran, who is also Dos Santos’ solicitor. Sulvaran has lately published articles from which it appears the Public Prosecutor or the judiciary is infallible.

Eldon ‘Peppie’ Sulvaran is an attorney and partner at law firm Sulvaran & Peterson on Curacao.