Dear Editor,
Prime Minister Berlusconi came up with a remarkable plan after the ancient town of L'Aquila was hit by a major earthquake in 2009. He wanted to pay the hundreds of millions needed for the recovery by issuing out additional slot machines. Francesco Corallo – gambling boss of the island of St. Maarten – gave Berlusconi a big gambling contract.
Corallo already owned tens of thousands slot machines in Italy with a turnover of billions of euros. Corallo was also sought in Italy for non-payment of taxes on his gambling revenues between 2004 and 2007, adding up to hundreds of millions of euros. Nonetheless, he got this new contract; even worse, one of his advisors drafted the text of the new law to regulate the slots. Corallo also would have channelled almost four million euros to Gianfranco Finni, at that time the number two of Berlusconi’s party. The banker of Corallo is Fortis Bank, a bank which was bought by the Dutch government in 2008 – in connection with the banking crisis.
What is KPMG’s role this time? Banks have a legal obligation to make sure customers aren’t criminals and that payments don’t result in fraud or corruption. Fortis Bank kept on being Francesco Corallo’s banker even though he was wanted for bribery and tax evasion. His operations were not checked by Fortis Bank, not even after it became a state bank. In these years Corallo has made many more notable payments using the Fortis Bank.
I have asked the Dutch Minister of Finance to research the actions of the state bank. Also noteworthy is the role of auditors. Corallo's auditor was KPMG Dutch Caribbean; Fortis’ auditor was KPMG Netherlands. I have previously asked for clarification on the role of KPMG in the illegal gambling industry in the former Netherlands Antilles. KPMG Netherlands always referred to its colleagues at KPMG Dutch Caribbean. In this affair with the Fortis Bank it is no longer possible for KPMG to avert responsibility. It needs to be accountable.
What is going to be the role of the elections in Curaçao? How is Francesco Corallo doing in the meantime? He was arrested in December on St. Maarten and is awaiting extradition to Italy. Curaçao and St. Maarten are further investigating this matter and more people have been arrested.
This investigation started on the initiative of VVD Member of Parliament (MP) André Bosman and myself. The islands are working in close cooperation with the United States and Italy; both have a special interest in Francesco Corallo – who is of Sicilian descent. Corallo didn’t only buy politicians in Italy; he also bribed politicians in St. Maarten and Curaçao, including former Curaçao Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte. Schotte has been sentenced to three years in prison; however, he can still participate in the Curaçao elections on April 28 and he could get back into power.
This threatens this beautiful island in our Kingdom into becoming a mafia state. As MP I will continue to fight against corruption and dirty money on the islands in the coming years, and against banks and accountants who make this possible.
Ronald van Raak,
Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament for the Socialist Party
Dear Editor,
The United People’s (UP) party has taken note of the appeal by Attorney-at-Law Geert Hatzmann where an official complaint has been filed with the Joint Court of Justice against the non-arrest of a man who allegedly severely mistreated his mother in February.
Not knowing the details of the case, we understand the frustration of the lawyer where the alleged perpetrator continues to walk free while the victim may live in fear because of this.
Victims’ rights are part and parcel of an individual’s protections and are to be treated with dignity, respect and sensitivity. A victim is usually defined as a person who has been directly harmed by a crime that was committed by another person.
Victims generally have the right to be treated with courtesy, fairness, and care by law enforcement and other officials throughout the entire criminal justice process. Victims have the right to protection from threats, intimidation, or retaliation, and we call upon the relevant authorities to adhere to the aforementioned in all cases of crimes related to a victim.
Silvia Meyers-Olivacee
President, United People’s (UP) party
Dear Editor,
Humility is her steering wheel and integrity manages her destiny! Before 10-10-10, this word seemed rather strange to many, but it soon became familiar, as the person in charge of this entity made it her duty, to dedicate her office to the St. Martin people. It is crystal clear, that it was never her intention to treat the organization as her personal space, nor to be consumed by the influence that comes with the position. For this reason, the individual is able to execute her function from a place of compassion, knowledge and openness.
This culture of transparency was designed mainly to reshuffle the mind-set of the population. The focus was to lessen the fear to be critical of government, but in a principled way. In return, government would be forced to be more responsible and accountable to the people, who are in fact the shareholders, as she so eloquently puts it. Which other section of government views the population as investors – financiers, who have the civil liberties to be treated fairly, and the rights to be informed of the various transactions that are affecting the business?
This firm, yet gentle woman of principle, has broken many barriers to achieve this enormous success. Her beliefs in education and information-sharing have propelled her to travel extensively; in order to gain the knowledge that was needed to operate the bureau. Did she keep this knowledge all to herself? No way! The shareholders have always been the centre of her focus and so she consistently seizes the opportunity to educate the public of new developments within the organization.
How did she accomplish her task without blemish or adverse suspicions? It is very simple: Her unchanging character is her anchor – it is the striking feature that defines her and sets her far apart from several others, who are in a similar position of leadership. Could she have done it alone? Absolutely not! Because this natural leader started out from the premise of providing a special service, she repeatedly selects the best team for the job – a staff that is not based on political association, but on competence, possession of similar character traits and one that has the same vision.
To understand the depth of her thoughts, she has recently contracted an independent consultancy firm, to evaluate the process and progress of her organization. Who does this kind of evaluation and why would she be so interested in knowing more about the status of her office, when she is estimated to leave the function within another 6 months? Definitely, this can only reflect the conduct of someone who acts from a position of selflessness and one who has graciously prepared to pass the torch to her successor.
This is a situation contrary to the norm, as many successors of similar positions became victims, simply because their predecessors have failed to provide them with the necessary information to continue the process. Not so with this woman of integrity, who has a different outlook on this transition of influence. She believes that the process of alteration should be fair-minded and smooth, in order to maintain that cordial relationship between the entity and the people.
As her tenure draws near, the thought of her departure is mixed with feelings deep admiration, sprinkled with a bit of uncertainty of the future. No matter what, the evidence is in the production. Bravo to our adorable and honourable Ombudsman Nilda Lynch-Arduin, who has mirrored how to serve her community with dignity and integrity!
Joslyn Morton
Dear Editor,
Last Tuesday, the case of Casa Blanca was heard at the Court of First Instance of St. Maarten. Casa Blanca and its principles are charged with human exploitation and tax fraud.
According to the Public Prosecutor, Casa Blanca had concluded employment agreements with its sex workers and therefore, should have reported the revenues for the sexual services by the women for tax purposes.
At first glance, this standpoint seems logical; however, there are serious caveats.
Firstly, it should be asked why a club would conclude employment agreements with sex workers because there are no obvious benefits for the club in doing so; neither the club nor the sex worker consider the contract as an actual employment relationship. The only purpose of these agreements is to acquire work permits for the sex workers. The sex workers cannot request nor acquire these permits themselves according to the current permit system that is in place in St. Maarten.
The St. Maarten government is evaluating to change this system into a system wherein the sex worker may request the work permit as an independent entrepreneur. Apparently, this system is already in place in Statia. An employment relation with a sex worker is also not morally accepted here in St. Maarten or the other Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curaçao or BES.
Notwithstanding the above, there are even more pressing legal arguments as to why the employment contracts with sex workers should be considered null and void.
The existence of an employment agreement is condition to certain legal requirements being met, i.e. (i) the employee has to perform work, (ii) the employer has to pay salary to the employee, and (iii) the employer should have the power to give instructions to the employee. All three requirements should be met or else there is no legal employment agreement.
Casa Blanca makes its money from the room rentals to the sex workers. The revenues for the sexual services are for the women. The client pays the sex worker for her services and the club withholds rent money on said revenues as well as a small service charge fee. Under this scenario, there are evidently two separate and independent entrepreneurs at play, i.e. the club and the sex worker. This is confirmed by case law.
More importantly, however, is the moral and ethical issues surrounding the treatment of sex workers in St. Maarten, which excludes the existence of legal employment agreements. To mention a simple example, an employment contract with a slave is illegal (at least according to our laws). In the same way, employment agreements with workers whom are being treated unethically are also considered null and void.
The alleged unethical treatment of sex workers in St. Maarten has gotten so out of control that the government decided to stop the issuance of work permits for sex workers as of 2015. Local clubs, including Casa Blanca, are accused of exploitation of the women who work there. This environment is evidently not suitable for and in conflict with a legally binding and enforceable employment agreement.
The Highest Court has decided that an employment agreement with a sex worker is perfectly acceptable unless the agreement would have to be considered unethical based on the specific circumstances, e.g. in case of exploitation.
It comes down to the following – the Public Prosecutor cannot have it both ways. If it charges and prosecutes local clubs for allegedly exploiting sex workers, then it is not possible to also go after the same clubs for not having reported the revenues of the sex workers for tax purposes. By doing so, the Prosecutor assumes the existence of legally binding employment agreements, which is not the case. If there is no employment relationship for civil law purposes, then the same applies for tax purposes. Tax wise, the sex workers are independent entrepreneurs and should be separately taxed as such. This way, taxation in St. Maarten would be in alignment with reality. No double dips for the Prosecutor's Office and certainly not for the tax department.
Richie J. Kock
Attorney-at-law
Dear Editor,
It is unbelievable that in a country which calls itself civilized and developed situations as described by Kenneth Cook in Monday’s paper continue to exist. This didn’t just happen last week, but has been going on for years.
When we were first disturbed by this loud music at the carwash near the baseball field some years ago, I went down to the place and asked them politely to, if they could, please, turn down the music. They looked at me as if I was an alien with a crazy request, but turned it down. Before I reached home they had turned it up again.
The next weekend I repeated my request much less politely. Same thing. I called the police when the music was still loud at 1:00am. According to the officer I spoke to, there was not much they could do if they had a permit. When I asked if this permit had no limit to the loudness of the music, I was told they would look into it. I guess they are still looking.
It is even sadder that this situation is not limited to our area. All over the island people are suffering from noise pollution. It seems as if it is a free-for-all if you have the right relationship with the police or people in power.
Last Saturday we fled our home again with a headache after having endured the loud music and hysterical DJ for a few hours. I am afraid I cannot claim the cost of our forced dinner elsewhere at the carwash. After 2:00am, when the crazy DJ felt he should start screaming and turning up the sound again, I was almost ready to burn down the place. Unfortunately, I am too civilized.
Marga Hart
