The prosecutor’s office has filed an appeal in the cases of three of the 12 Avestrus suspects. The Prosecutor’s Office takes a different view of the decisions of the court of first instance in the cases of the defendants O.B.S., M.L.A. and P.T.A.S. and disagrees with the penalties imposed by the court.
In Avestrus, the Public Prosecutor’s Office had demanded an unconditional prison sentence of 5 years against former Minister S. for bribery, defrauding the State of Aruba, abuse of office, money laundering and embezzlement. It also demanded that he be deprived of his passive voting rights for a period of 10 years. S. was sentenced by the court to 12 months’ imprisonment, of which 6 months were suspended, for bribery and embezzlement. He was acquitted of fraud, abuse of office and money laundering. In addition, the court stripped S. of his passive voting rights for five years.
The prosecutor had demanded an unconditional prison sentence of three years and a fine of 25,000 guilders for defrauding the State, forgery in writing and bribery. She was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment, 12 of which were suspended, three years’ probation and a fine of 50,000 guilders. A. was acquitted of actively bribing suspect S. and of falsifying documents.
The defendant, P.T.A.S., a former DOW official, was sentenced in the first instance to two years, one of which was suspended, for bribery and money laundering. He was partially exonerated for actively bribing the minister. Like M.L.A., he was placed under a special condition that he cannot apply for or obtain options on commercial leases for a period of three years. Suspect P.T.A.S. was awarded forfeiture of a confiscated sum of $1.3 million. The prosecutor’s office had earlier demanded an unconditional four-year prison sentence against him.
The prosecution will not appeal the statements of the other defendants. As far as the Public Prosecutor’s Office is aware, the following defendants have appealed: O.B.S., M.L.A. and P.T.A.S. (also the Public Prosecutor’s Office appeal) and C.R.M., E.R.W., N.D.N. and C.D.H.