The continuation of a plenary session of Parliament on the draft national ordinance establishing a new Penal Procedure Code scheduled for Thursday afternoon was postponed “until further notice” the same morning, at the request of Justice Minister Egbert “Yurendy” Doran.
Two weeks ago, during a meeting of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in Antigua, he had been informed of a public statement against St. Maarten for not fully complying with anti-money-laundering and -terrorism-financing recommendations, including the aforementioned – still pending – law change.
There would be no direct consequences, as other countries were not advised to impose countermeasures. However, this could change in May if the shortcomings are not addressed by then.
Doran has vowed to do so and get the statement revoked at that time. However, the current interim cabinet’s term ends February 10, giving him an even earlier deadline to complete at least his part.
Any major further delay going forward would be risky at best, with all possible financial-economic consequences should the country truly be blacklisted. The minister is again urged to take whatever steps necessary to resolve this crucial issue once and for all, preferably before leaving office.
