Suspended MP Theodore Heyliger arriving at the Courthouse for a hearing in the “Larimar” case on May 27, 2019. (File photo)
PHILIPSBURG--The Prosecutor’s Office has seized real estate belonging to suspended Member of Parliament (MP) Theodore Heyliger. His salary as an MP was also seized, the Prosecutor’s Office confirmed on Thursday.
Anti-Corruption Taskforce TBO spokesman Roderick Gouverneur confirmed that properties owned by Heyliger and his salaries as an MP had been seized, but declined to provide further information pending the investigation.
According to reports in the social media, also liens have been placed on Heyliger’s bank accounts, but the TBO spokesman said this was not the case.
Heyliger is a suspect in the “Larimar” investigation involving corruption, money-laundering and payment of bribes to politicians and civil servants in St. Maarten, by construction companies to be awarded big projects.
Heyliger is accused of receiving in total approximately US $4 million over a period of 15 years while holding public office as a minister, an Island Council member or as an MP.
Heyliger is currently in hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, to recover from surgery to remove part of one of his kidneys that had a significant cancerous tumour and a cyst. He will need at least six weeks to recover.
