WILLEMSTAD - In the criminal case against civil-law notary Johnny Kleinmoedig, his lawyer Paula Jansen argued during her presentation that there is insufficient evidence for embezzlement, the core of the case against her client.
“All amounts appear to have been administratively justified, as evidenced by the financial forensic investigation submitted by the defense. This also means that there is no (customary) money laundering.”
The defense of the notary therefore believes that Kleinmoedig should be acquitted. According to Jansen, it has not been established with the file that Kleinmoedig took funds from an escrow account for personal use and that the amounts of money received by the civil-law notary originated directly or indirectly from any crime.
According to Jansen, Public Prosecution Service has not provided proof that the amounts charged belonged to third parties. Also, the Public Prosecution Service has not provided proof that the client subsequently unlawfully appropriated the amounts charged. The Public Prosecution Service has not even provided evidence that the indicted amounts of money have been withdrawn from their destination and that the client has always used it for its own benefit and thus has always given it a different purpose," said Jansen, who continued:
“After all, one does not commit appropriation merely by presuming dominion over money. The intent regarding illegality during the indicted period also is not reflected from the dossier.”
After having studied the file, Kleinmoedig's defense concludes that the file 'only contains an account of the use of the indicted funds'.
“But has this not shown that those funds actually accrued to the foundation and were subsequently unlawfully appropriated by the client, whether or not jointly and in association. At the most, that those funds were stored there (in deposit).”
According to Jansen, the Public Prosecution Service builds the criminal prosecution of the notary on indications and assumptions substantiated with findings from a tax audit. According to Jansen, the Public Prosecution Service also failed to investigate further statements from her client that would prove that there was no question of embezzlement.