Bron: Today Newspaper
WILLEMSTAD – Pueblo Soberano leader Helmin Wiels has raised eyebrows in Willemstad and in The Hague after he said in a radio interview that Antilliaans Dagblad publisher Mike Willemse ought to be arrested for publishing a letter from Justice Minister Wilsoe to the American Attorney General Eric Holder. In the letter, Wilsoe asks the Americans to lift the lien on bank accounts belonging to lottery-boss Robbie dos Santos. The combined accounts of Ponsford Overseas Ltd. and Tula Finance Ltd. hold between $30 and $46 million.
Wiels, known for his confrontational style, dismissed the Antilliaans Dagblad’s right to freedom of the press and likened the publication to terrorism, saying releasing the information was dangerous.
Willemse told this newspaper that Wiels has declined to repeat his statement to reporters. He just referred to his earlier statements and had no further comment. Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte said at a press conference yesterday that Wiels’ statements were harsh but he did not openly condemn them.
In the meantime, Attorney general Dick Piar has defended the actions of the public prosecutor’s office in the Bientu-investigation of which the lien on Dos Santos’ bank accounts is a result. Piar told the Antilliaans Dagblad that the public prosecutor acted based on a decision by the independent court.
The lien on the contested American bank accounts is still in place, because there is a second lien. Piar said that the Court in First Instance had only ordered lifting the first lien on the accounts.
The public prosecutor’s office has strong indications that the money in the American accounts is the yield of a money laundering operation.
The intervention of Justice Minister Wilsoe is remarkable, also because Curaçao’s Finance Minister George Jamaloodin is a brother of Robbie dos Santos.