The TBO carrying out a search at the Windward Roads Infrastructure office building in St. Maarten on January 24, 2018. (File photo)
PHILIPSBURG--Construction company Windward Roads Infrastructure former director J.B. allegedly used monies from the company’s bank account to pay for the expenses of his ex-wife and children. Some 240,000 euros were spent on pool maintenance, dental expenses and purchases at furniture retailer Ikea, Dutch regional newspaper Eindhovens Dagblad reported Wednesday.
Windward Roads is a subsidiary of Dutch construction company Janssen de Jong, based in the municipality of Son en Breugel, near Eindhoven, in the Dutch province Noord-Brabant.
B., who was director of Windward Roads until last year, allegedly is one of the main players in the “Larimar” investigation involving corruption and fraud. Under his leadership, money from Janssen de Jong’s subsidiary in St. Maarten was allegedly used to pay out bribes and to finance “private expenses,” the paper stated.
Windward Roads allegedly paid 2.5 million euros to consultant R.M. that were allegedly used to pay bribes to corrupt civil servants and politicians, among them current leader of United Democrats (UD) Theodore Heyliger. A forensic accountant discovered the “plundering” of the Philipsburg-based construction company, Eindhovens Dagblad said.
Construction company Windward Roads will not stand trial, as the Prosecutor’s Office in St. Maarten has agreed to a “remarkable” settlement under which the company is reportedly obligated to construct underground sewerage at a cost of two million euros.
Asked about this transaction, the Prosecutor’s Office informed The Daily Herald that it would provide a statement on Friday.
Janssen de Jong not only lost a lot of money, the case also caused a new dent in the construction company’s image which was previously discredited due to construction fraud and price agreements.
Chairman Hans Smits said Tuesday that his company Janssen de Jong fully cooperates with the investigation by the authorities in St. Maarten. He said that B. had never provided an explanation. “He was the figurehead of the company and has put at risk the employment of 100 employees,” he said in Eindhovens Dagblad.
The special anti-corruption taskforce Team Bestrijding Ondermijning (TBO) searched the office building of Windwards Roads Infrastructure in Philipsburg in January 2018.
“The construction company and persons who work there or have worked there are associated with bribery of civil servants, authorities and persons in the construction sector. These practices would have been taking place in St. Maarten for years; all suspicions are related to (public) works carried out in St. Maarten,” the Prosecutor’s Office said in its press release at the time.
- was arrested in February 2018 on suspicion of bribery and corruption. He was held for a week and will be standing trial at a later date. The former director of Windward Roads is facing an extensive list of charges. The first two relate directly to the amounts paid to Heyliger of almost $1,850,000 and the repairs done to Theo’s private home to the tune of NAf. 135,000, to be awarded one or more public construction projects.
- is also accused of falsifying numerous invoices over the period June 17, 2013, to December 31, 2015, to pay a number of companies a total of $627,700 for fictitious work never carried out on behalf of Windward Roads. A next procedural hearing in this case is expected to be held in September.
Janssen de Jong said the raid, arrest and suspicions came as a total surprise. A forensic accountant hired by the Board of Directors confirmed the “odd” transfers of money. Janssen de Jong holds B. personally liable for the total damages of 1.4 million euros.
Windward Roads barely survived the scandal. “The company has been severely damaged and the situation has cost an enormous amount of money,” Smits told Eindhovens Dagblad. He said he did not dare to say why Janssen de Jong had not discovered the fraud before. “I do not want to speculate about this,” he said.
The shareholders fired B. earlier this year. In an injunction handled by the Court in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, on Wednesday, B. demands that the company keeps paying his salaries.
The suspect said that he is cooperating with the investigations by the Prosecutor’s Office and that he has not yet been convicted. Besides, he has also become unfit for work and does not have any income anymore, he informed the Court, according to Eindhovens Dagblad.
