Appeals Court does not buy lucky winner’s story

February 19, 2016 9:46 AM
PHILIPSBURG--Ruddemiro D. Dorothea unsuccessfully appealed his conviction of laundering some US $80,230, for which the Court of First Instance had sentenced him in September 2015, to six months.
 
The Appeals Court announced Wednesday; it would uphold the six-month verdict.
 
The Court of First Instance had ordered the confiscation of the money the defendant had on him on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2015, when he was about to travel from St. Maarten to Curaçao, where he lives.
 
When a Customs Officer asked Dorothea (43) whether he was carrying cash in his luggage, he denied this, but when his bag was searched a large number of banknotes in various denominations were found.
 
Asked about the origin of the money, Dorothea claimed he had won it as a prize after buying a winning ticket in an illegal lottery in Curaçao.
 
The Court, however, did not accept this explanation as the defendant could not provide any hard evidence to sustain this claim, and found it proven that the money was made by criminal activities.
 
The three-judge panel rejected the defendant’s statement because the proceeds of an illegal lottery cannot not be traced; therefore, the suspect’s defence was dismissed as being “unacceptable and unverifiable.”
 
The Court convicted Dorothea of money-laundering and of violation of currency regulations which oblige travellers to declare the import or export of money exceeding NAf. 20,000 or its equivalent.
 
The daily herald

Lawyer Roeland Zwanikken considers legal action against ABN AMRO Bank

May 08, 2021 6:14 PM
THE HAGUE--Attorney-at-law Roeland Zwanikken at St. Maarten’s BZSE law office is considering legal action against the intention of the Dutch ABN AMRO Bank to close the bank accounts of its clients in the Dutch Caribbean.

Fiscaal onderzoek bij notariskantoren vinden doorgang

May 07, 2021 8:04 AM
In het Antilliaans Dagblad: Fiscaal onderzoek bij notariskantoren
WILLEMSTAD – De fiscale onderzoeken bij de notarissen vonden en vinden, ondanks de beperkingen van Covid-19, weer doorgang en de medewerking aan de kant van notarissen en adviseurs is daarbij ‘over het algemeen goed’.

Juridische miljoenenstrijd tussen BNP Paribas en Italiaanse prinses verhardt

February 22, 2021 4:51 PM
  • Bezit van Italiaanse Crociani-familie op Curaçao mag van rechter worden verkocht
  • De Crociani's ruziën al jaren met BNP Paribas over een claim van $100 mln
  • Curaçaos trustkantoor United Trust heeft 'geen enkele relatie meer' met Camilla Crociani
Een Italiaanse prinses met zakelijke belangen in Nederland heeft het onderspit gedolven bij diverse rechtbanken in een langslepend conflict met zakenbank BNP Paribas.