PHILIPSBURG--The Criminal Investigation Team RST, under the direction of the examining judge on Friday conducted searches at the home and workplace at the Parliament Building of Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Kevin Maingrette.
The Prosecutor's Office OM said in a press release that the searches took place due to the criminal investigation "Metz." The Member of Parliament is suspected of taking bribes and misusing his position.
The investigation focuses on the events that led to the collapse of the recently formed government. The suspicion that has arisen needs to be investigated thoroughly in order to clarify whether criminal acts have indeed occurred, the OM said in the release.
"The credibility and legitimacy of Sint Maarten's democracy is at stake. The impact of the government's collapse on the citizens of St Maarten is significant. It means that the government can no longer make crucial decisions and St Maarten citizens will have to go to the polls again during the hurricane season," it was stated.
As of yet, no arrests have been made, and investigations are still ongoing for now.
Anyone who may have information related to these events is urged to share this with the investigation team. This can be done through the email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The RST conducts the criminal investigation "Metz" under the authority of the Central Team of the Attorney General's Office of Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. The Central Team focuses primarily on a specialized approach to fight corruption and subversive crime. The team mostly conducts criminal investigations into complex crime with a financial-economic component and which involves Politically Exposed Persons (PEP), public officials, government NVs, facilitators or public sector organisations.
