June 8, 2021 THE HAGUE - It is almost certain that the former Prime Minister of Curaçao Gerrit Schotte has to transfer almost 2 million guilders to the Public Prosecution Service (OM). The Advocate General at the Supreme Court in The Hague has come to the conclusion that the former prime minister, who was convicted of corruption, was rightly charged by the Public Prosecution Service.
This is apparent from the advice that Advocate General Bleichrodt issued today. It rarely happens that the Supreme Court that issues its verdict on 7 September deviates from the advice of the AGs.
In the criminal case, former Prime Minister Schotte was irrevocably sentenced to three years in prison for, among other things, official corruption and money laundering. As an additional sentence, he was disqualified from the right to run for election for a period of five years. In the criminal case, it has been established, among other things, that he has accepted high amounts of money, which were intended to induce him to pay compensation, from a befriended Italian businessman. In this case, the Common Court ruled that Schotte obtained an unlawful advantage from accepting these gifts and from a similar fact. The Common Court set the amount to be paid at 1,844,190.35 Antillean guilders. Schotte appealed against this decision to the Supreme Court.