POINTE BLANCHE--The civil investigation into the operations of the Harbour Group of Companies is still underway, according to spokesperson for the Prosecutor Office Karola van Nie. The investigation concerns the corporate governance of the port authority in a broad sense, and addresses issues about compliance with the law, compliance with the statutes, transparency, and other specific issues, including the course of affairs with regard to the construction of Simpson Bay Causeway. The Prosecutor’s Office emphasizes that this is a civil and not a criminal investigation.
The spokesperson also said that more information about the investigation is not available at this time, however, the investigation continues. In a previous interview with Chief Prosecutor Ton Maan, he said, “The Prosecutor’s Office is still in good contact with the harbour and is studying the many papers they provided to us.” Authorities requested information about the policies and course of affairs from St. Maarten Harbour Holding NV, and from its closely-linked companies, on July 13 2015.
HBN Law firm represents the government-owned company and is said to be cooperating with information requested by the prosecutor.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office may obtain information regarding the policies of the legal entity and the course of its affairs. The harbour is obliged to provide the information and to allow inspection of its books, documents and other data carriers. The Prosecutor’s Office initiated this civil investigation based on signals from the community and on the integrity reports from the Bob Wit-Committee and PricewaterhouseCooopers.
The Harbour Group has not yet made a public statement about the investigation.
