PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – Finance and Planning Minister Adelien Wijnerman says the government has not received any official confirmation regarding the release of Euro 19.5 million (One Euro = 1.29 cents) seized by the Dutch Public Prosecution Service in 2018.
In a statement released through the official Suriname Communication Service, Wijnerman said intensive discussions are currently underway between the Surinamese commercial banks, the Central Bank of Suriname, and the Dutch Public Prosecution Service regarding a possible return of the funds.
Several media houses reported on Monday night that the Dutch judiciary had decided to release the funds and that Hakrinbank, which holds a portion of the amount, had already informed the authorities of this development.
But Wijnerman has cautioned against optimism, noting that concrete steps and official confirmations from the competent authorities are still lacking, and that the government is monitoring the situation closely and awaiting further information from the Central Bank of Suriname.
She is calling on the public to exercise restraint in drawing conclusions based on speculation or incomplete information, underscoring the importance of following official communications from competent authorities to prevent misunderstandings and unrest.
The Dutch authorities seized the funds at the Schiphol Airport in April 2018 on suspicion of money laundering. The shipment was en route to a bank in Hong Kong to exchange Euros for US dollars.
The Central Bank of Suriname carried out the transaction on behalf of several banks, including Hakrinbank, Republic Bank, De Surinaamse Bank, and Finabank.
The Public Prosecution Service raised questions regarding the origin of the money and found the statements from three of the banks involved insufficient. Only the information from Republic Bank was deemed adequate, as a result of which this bank recovered its share of the amount.
The Central Bank argues that indicating that the shipment was a legitimate transaction did not convince the Dutch judiciary.
The other banks have since taken legal action against the Public Prosecution Service, with mixed results. In the first instance, it was decided that the funds had to be released, but that ruling was overturned on appeal.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled last month that the seizure remains in effect.
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