PHILIPSBURG--The Joint Court of Justice announced Thursday it will render its decision on the Prosecutor’s Office’s request for a civil inquiry into the administration within St. Maarten Harbour Holding Company (SMHHC) N.V. on Thursday, June 14, instead of on Tuesday, June 26, as was previously announced, the Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday. The decision will be rendered at the Courthouse at 9:00am.
On May 24, the Prosecutor’s Office requested the Joint Court’s Enterprise Division’s permission to investigate possible maladministration within the port’s group of companies. Based on preliminary investigations the Prosecutor’s Office believes there is sufficient reason to doubt proper management at Harbour.
Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunication Cornelius de Weever, who was heard by the Court last month, supported the Port’s position and opposed the Prosecutor’s request on behalf of Country St. Maarten.
The Prosecutor’s Office filed the request for an administrative investigation on August 31, 2017. “From the information gathered to date a very disturbing picture emerges regarding the course of affairs within the Group and the policy pursued within the Group,” the Solicitor-General stated in his petition to the Court.
The Prosecutor’s Office provided the Court with five issues “exemplary” of business management within SMHHC. This concerns the company not abiding by the rules concerning corporate governance; the tender and development of the causeway bridge; the loan of Octavio Holdings Inc. for the purchase of a crane; the dispute between SMHHC and developer Zebec Development N.V. and the subsequent settlement concerning a plot of land adjacent to the Harbour; and fraud committed at the Harbour which is subject of the so-called “Emerald” investigation.
In the petition, the Solicitor-General called on the Court for permission to investigate the tendering, financing and contracting of (infrastructural) Harbour projects; the process of attracting loan capital; the entering into large and risky financial obligations; project development and the issuing of land; and corporate governance, from January 1, 2009.
The Prosecutor’s Office requested that the Court take several provisions for the duration of the legal dispute, which are to include the suspension of Board Chairman Mark Mingo and the appointment of a new Chairman against remuneration to be set by the Court. SMHHC’s current board members should also be suspended and new members appointed, also against payment of a fee to be established by the Court.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the Harbour Group should be ordered to appoint a legal and compliance officer no later than two months after a verdict in this case. This person should monitor compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and the Corporate Governance Code.
The Harbour Companies should also appoint an ombudsman or confidentiality officer to whom staff members may report wrongdoings, in anonymity if needed, and should draft a non-retaliation policy.
