Six Years in Prison for Central Bank Governor
Robert van Trikt, the former Central Bank governor in Surinam, will spend six years in prison for his role in a corruption case involving over US$800,000. According to The Daily Herald, he was on the job for just under one year before getting discharged dishonorably on January 30.
Judge Maytrie Kuldipsing sentenced the 48-year-old son of Education Minister Lilian Ferrier to eight years following his conviction on violating the Anti-Corruption Act, forgery, embezzlement, money laundering, and participation in a criminal enterprise.
However, he will spend only six years because he was behind bars from February 2020, according to judge Kuldipsing. The judge said there was large-scale corruption in this case, but she considered that Van Trikt was a first-time offender at sentencing. The prosecution had sought a 10-year sentence.
The judge found that the former CBvS governor together with and in association with the then Minister of Finance, Gillmore Hoefdraad, the former director of Legal Affairs of the Central Bank, Faranaaz Hausil, and the former director of the Surinamese Postspaarbank, Ginmardo Kromosoto, committed acts to the detriment of the Central Bank.
In addition to the prison sentence, the former Central Bank official was also slapped with a fine of SR $500,000 (One ASRD=US$0.04) or an alternative of 16 months behind bars.
Van Trikt's actions
In her 80-page ruling, she said the Anti-Corruption Act applies to Van Trikt because he is a public official. There was no sound legal advice regarding the agreements he had signed, and the bank's supervisory board was unaware of the deals.
Van Trikt, an accountant by profession, had recruited his business partner in his private accountancy firm Orion, Ashween Angnoe, as his advisor.
The judge said that Euros 625,000 (One Euro=US$1.29) had been transferred for one of the projects and that part of those funds went to Orion to repay loans from this private company.
Loans from Van Trikt’s wife have also been repaid with part of these funds. Orion’s office building has also been confiscated and forfeited, and the Euros 625,000 must be refunded to the Central Bank of Suriname.
A Range Rover, which was also purchased with the embezzled money, has also been confiscated.
Van Trikt had argued that he was innocent. Other defendants, in the case, were sentenced to three and five-year prison terms.
On Monday, the judge sentenced the former head of the Central Bank of Suriname's legal department, Faranaaz Hausil, to three years in jail on corruption-related charges.
Judge Singh also imposed a fine of SRD$100 000 (One SRD=US$0.04) or a further ten months in prison while not imposing the four-year jail term as had been requested by the prosecution.
In December last year, Hoefdraad was sentenced to 12 years in prison on corruption charges and fined SRD500 000.
The government had charged Hoefdraad as part of a criminal conspiracy to defraud the central bank while serving as finance minister. According to the Interpol notice seeking his arrest, Hoefdraad faced charges of “participation in a criminal organization,” breaking the anti-corruption act, embezzlement, and “aggravated embezzlement.”
Hoefdraad, who was sentenced in absentia, served as CBvS governor between 2010 and 2015 before becoming minister of finance for President Desi Bouterse, who held office between 2010 and 2020.
