Then-Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Christophe Emmanuel standing in front of the large flagpole at the Bell's lookout point in November 2017. He allegedly took a NAf. 23,500 bribe from the businessman who was awarded the controversial flagpole project. (file photo)
PHILIPSBURG--Former Member of Parliament (MP) Christophe Emmanuel has been indicted on a number of bribery and corruption charges linked to his tenure as Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI from December 2016 to January 2018.
The indictments against Emmanuel and four co-suspects were read out in a preliminary hearing of the Court of First Instance on Wednesday, the first public court session in the so-called “Jasmine” investigation.
Emmanuel has been accused of accepting bribes from co-suspect J.A.D., who allegedly acted as a middleman for companies with interests in open applications for construction permits.
Emmanuel, together with his former chief of staff M.A.R. and her partner J.E.B., have also been charged with defrauding the government out of large amounts of money.
According to the indictment, B.’s infrastructure company, which he jointly owned with R., had been awarded four public tenders by Emmanuel’s ministry. Two concerned repairs to bridges, while the remaining two were for road maintenance and work at a basketball court.
B. and R. have been separately charged with money-laundering related to these four projects.
Emmanuel is also accused of accepting a NAf. 23,500 bribe from businessman J.M.B., whose company was awarded the controversial project that saw a large flagpole being erected near the Bell's lookout point. This happened shortly after Hurricane Irma devastated St. Maarten and the rest of the north-eastern Caribbean in September 2017.
Although some have praised the flagpole and its positive effect on national pride, there have been criticism of the pole’s tendency to rip flags after they have been hoisted, costing the government undisclosed sums to replace.
Last June, then-acting Minister of Education, Culture, youth and Sport (ECYS) Lyndon Lewis – a minister appointed to Dr. Luc Mercelina’s first cabinet on behalf of Emmanuel’s NOW party – said in a press statement: “The flag pole remains problematic as it is not the ideal pole for its purpose and is missing some elements.”
On Wednesday, the judge heard defence lawyers Safira Ibrahim and Jairo Bloem petition the court with requests for additional investigation, which include the hearing of more than 10 witnesses, some of which are senior civil servants and former high-ranking politicians. The judge will decide on these requests on March 13.
Emmanuel’s lawyer Peggy-Ann Brandon could not attend Wednesday’s hearing due to personal reasons, and the judge granted a postponement in his case until further notice. This means that Brandon will present her requests for additional investigation, if any, at that time.
The court is also trying to figure out how to hand over the case file to one of the co-suspects, J.M.B., who has insisted on defending himself. He told the court that the Prosecutor’s Office is curtailing his rights by refusing to hand over the entire file to him in person, allowing read-only access at their Philipsburg office.
The prosecutor told the court that the law only proscribes handing over the case file to defence lawyers, who have a sworn duty not to disclose confidential information, such as the names of witnesses and what they have said to police.
Private citizens do not have ethical obligation, the prosecutor said. Additionally, the law only says that suspects must be given access, and this can be done by reading the documents at the Prosecutor’s Office, he said.
Wednesday was not the first time that Emmanuel has been before the court on corruption charges. In October 2020, the Court of First Instance dismissed the prosecution’s case against him in the so-called “Begonia” investigation, which looked into alleged wrongdoings in the issuance of long-lease land when Emmanuel was VROMI Minister.
