THE HAGUE--The special TBO team instituted last year to combat subversive crime in Curaçao and St. Maarten is yielding positive results and will remain in place for at least another four years, stated Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops during the recent handling of the 2018 budget for Kingdom Relations in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament.
He confirmed that an annual amount of 12 million euros will be available from the Dutch budget for the period 2018-2021 to finance the work of the TBO team that is working in Curaçao and St. Maarten to combat corruption and the links between the organised crime and the government. In total, 48 million euros will be available for the next four years, in addition to the funds for additional detective capacity as part of the Kingdom Detective Cooperation Team RST.
“Due to existing problems, it has been decided to continue the financing of the TBO through 2021. The approach, which started last year, has started to yield concrete results. The team has a substantial number of persons and corporations in its view. The team also has an eye on the sizable illicit accrued assets,” stated Knops.
The first results have, unfortunately, confirmed the necessity of the work by the TBO team, said Knops, adding that for long-lasting results, it was important that subversive activities are met by broad social, sustained protest.
He said that despite the ongoing efforts to tackle subversive crime and corruption, he could not guarantee 100 per cent that nothing would go wrong during the reconstruction period in St. Maarten.
He said there would be occasional incidents where things did not go as planned. “We have to accept that. These things happen wherever money is being spent, whether it is in the Netherlands, where we had our own scandals in the past years, or abroad. It might also possibly happen in St. Maarten. I am not issuing a warning, but mistakes will be made here as well. We will have to learn from that.”
Member of the Second Chamber Ronald van Raak of the Socialist Party (SP) complimented Knops for continuing the investigation into the connections between the underworld and upper world for the next four years. He said it was important to eradicate the influence of the mafia to provide a better future for the people on the islands.
Knops said he hoped to improve the strained relations with the Netherlands when he visited the islands in a week or two. He said he saw opportunities to do things together with the islands and to set up projects together aimed at improving good governance. “We can help each other in an equal relationship,” he said.
The most important aspect in the relations within the Kingdom is to create prospects, not only after Hurricane Irma, but also to strengthen the islands’ economies, creating more employment for the local population and enhancing prosperity for all.
“This government wants to work on constructive cooperation to achieve more positive development of the relations within the Kingdom. Naturally, I will continue the talks with the islands, and this will require an effort from both sides. I want to especially work on improving the living conditions of the people on the islands and to improve the cooperation,” said Knops.
He said history has connected the partners in the Kingdom and it is important to continuously give content to that connection, especially after the destruction Hurricane Irma has caused in the Windward Islands.
“The Dutch Government will play an active role in the reconstruction, strengthen its coordinating role to eradicate poverty and work on promoting good governance. Naturally we do so in constructive cooperation with the autonomous countries and the Caribbean Netherlands,” he said.
