Three people were arrested on Sint Maarten on Wednesday night (local time), it confirms Prosecution (TO). They have been arrested on suspicion of fraud in cleaning up and repairing damage caused by Hurricane Irma in 2017. Three homes and two businesses were also searched.
In the restoration of the airport of the Windward Island, the three would have been guilty of bribery, money laundering, forgery or a combination of these. In November 2021, two other people were already arrested in this case.
On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma caused massive damage on Sint Maarten. The Princess Juliana International Airport was also heavily damaged. The Netherlands made an amount of 500 million euros available to rebuild the country. That money was placed with the World Bank to prevent misuse.
The fraud investigation is led by the Team Combating Subversion (TBO) of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Prosecutor General of Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. According to the Public Prosecution Service, this team wants to fight corruption and subversive crime with a specialized approach.