PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten (21 December 2022) - Two men were convicted of perjury by the Court of First Instance on Wednesday, December 21, 2022. Leonardo Brommet and politician Khalil Revan were both sentenced to three months imprisonment each, as requested by the Prosecutor’s Office, for lying under oath when they testified in the fraud-related "Aquamarine" case that concerned a former Member of Parliament Frans Richardson and the construction sector.
The two men were suspected of perjury in that case. The Prosecutor’s Office pursued this in Court as this kind of obstruction is detrimental to society and to the proper dispensation of justice. These perjury cases, called "Galjoen" and "Gallei", were conducted by the Central Team, focusing on a specialized approach to combat corruption and undermining crime. The team conducts criminal investigations with a financial-economic component and involves Politically Exposed Persons (PEP), civil servants, government NVs, facilitators, or public sector organizations. These cross-border crimes often include serious forms of tax fraud and money laundering in addition to corruption.
Frans Richardson was sentenced on November 16, 2021, in the Court of First to twelve months and payment of criminal proceeds of NAf. 666,000 and NAf. 192,690. He was also banned from running for public office for three years. In addition, the confiscation of criminal proceeds worth $370,000 was also sought in the “Emerald” case in which Richardson was found guilty of accepting bribes, money laundering, and tax fraud.
In Aquamarine II, Richardson was found guilty of having requested substantial sums of money from construction company Taliesin, or its contractor and owner of Low Price Lumber Hardware store, for repairs of storm damage to the “LEA-building” in which government-owned agency Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) is located. This concerns the repair of damage caused by Hurricane Irma. In return for the money, Richardson used his influence as a politician to ensure that Taliesin would be awarded contracts for maintenance and repair work for BTP and to expedite payment of existing contracts with BTP. Also, Richardson participated in a contract between Advanced Communications and Technology Services NV (ACTIS) and BTP, which was closed on March 16, 2012. ACTIS became the managing company of the numbering plan for St. Maarten as per June 15, 2012.
Richardson, through his shareholding in Caribbean Value Estate Ltd. (CVE) and CVE’s shareholding in ACTIS, had a financial interest in the contract between BTP and ACTIS, under which BTP made payments to ACTIS, the court stated, adding that Richardson had received dividends from ACTIS.
In determining the sentence, the court considered the fact that Richardson was sentenced to 36 months for a similar offense on January 29, 2020. However, this judgment is not yet irrevocable. During his trial, Richardson fervently denied that he was guilty of any crimes. Lawyer Sjamira Roseburg filed an appeal against the verdict of the court.
