In the case of the complaint by the Central Bank of Suriname and three overseas commercial banks against a traditional garnishment, levied on a cash amount of 19.5 million euros, transported from Suriname to Hong Kong via Schiphol, a judgment was handed down today.
The court considers that the interest of the criminal proceedings no longer requires the continuation of the attachment and orders the return of the 19.5 million euros to the commercial banks.
Aroon Gonesh, a lawyer for the Central Bank of Suriname, says in an initial response to the editors of Waterkant.Net that the Court has come to the conclusion, in a very well reasoned decision, that it is “highly unlikely that a criminal court, subsequently ruling on this case, the confiscation or other provision for which the money was seized’.
According to Gonesh, according to Supreme Court jurisprudence in such complaints proceedings, the court can only order restitution if a conviction is then highly unlikely to follow.
On April 17, 2018, the Tax Investigation and Intelligence Service (FIOD) issued a seized bank transfer of almost 19.5 million euros on suspicion of money laundering.
This remittance had flown in from Suriname to Schiphol Airport a few days earlier and was bound for Hong Kong, where it would be converted into cash and then added to commercial bank cash. The money is owned by three Surinamese banks.
