~ Prosecution simply does not have a case says Appeals Court~
PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Christopher Emmanuel represented by The Law Firm won his case against the Prosecutor’s Office who was seeking to Prosecute him in the Begonia Investigation.
The Appeals Court ruled against the Prosecution on Thursday denying the Prosecution’s request to prosecute.
The Begonia Investigation started when former Minister of VROMI Miklos Giterson wrote a letter to the Council of Ministers which he was part of complaining about the former Minister of VROMI Christopher Emmanuel stating that Emmanuel did not follow procedures when he distributed parcels of land to several persons within the community of St. Maarten.
It was that letter written by Giterson that was used to start the Begonia Investigation. On October 22nd, 2019 when Emmanuel name was submitted for screening so that he could have taken up the position as the Minister of VSA that the Landsrecherche and the Prosecutors Office raided Emmanuel’s home and arrested him as a suspect in the Begonia Investigation, on that same day the national detectives also raided the home of Emmanuel’s former chief of cabinet Marisha Richardson and also placed her under arrest.
It was clear back in 2019 that the Prosecutor’s Office did not follow the basic rules by seeking permission from the Appeals Court prior to arresting the Member of Parliament. In fact, the Prosecutor’s Office created their own scandal by raiding the home of an elected official, illegally placing him under arrest in order to block him from becoming a Minister within the Council of Ministers.
