WILLEMSTAD - The Public Prosecution Service will not clarify until Monday or Tuesday at the latest whether an agreement has been reached with Gerrit Schotte in the case of 1.8 million guilders. That is the amount that the former prime minister has to pay following his conviction in the Babel case, in which he was convicted of official corruption and money laundering.
The confiscation case that followed was lost by Schotte on appeal. It was determined that he must pay 1,844,190 guilders (almost one million euros) to the crime fund. If the former prime minister is unable or unwilling to pay that amount, then three years in prison would follow.
Schotte said at the end of last week on social media that he has made a payment arrangement, but it has been agreed that the parties will not disclose anything about the nature of the payment arrangement as part of the agreement.
Prosecution
The press release that will be distributed by the Public Prosecution Service at the beginning of this week will be sent to Gerrit Schotte's lawyer in advance for notification. Spokesperson Guillano Schoop does want to say that the negotiations have been completed. But he did not say whether that led to a payment arrangement.
The Public Prosecution Service had previously announced that it was open to a payment arrangement, but this must be in proportion to the debt of 1.8 million guilders. “A substantial monthly amount is then required,” said Schoop at the time.