THE HAGUE - The Supreme Court in the Netherlands today rejected the appeal in cassation brought by the former minister of finance George Jamaloodin. This means that the prison sentence of 30 years previously imposed on him by the Court in Willemstad will remain in force.
Jamaloodin, Minister of Finance in the Schotte cabinet from 2010 to 2012, has been convicted of provoking the murder of politician Helmin Wiels. Wiels was shot and killed by a hit man on May 5, 2012 on the beach of Marie Pampoen. The trail led to the clients through the executors and a murder broker. Of them, only Jamaloodin has been prosecuted. The prosecution was unable to prove the suspicion against co-defendants – including former Minister of Justice Elmer Wilsoe and Jamaloodin's half-brother, lottery king Robbie dos Santos.
The murder of Wiels is linked to the gambling sector on the island. Just before his death, the popular politician announced that he would come out with information about mafia practices. Because of the uncontrolled trade in sublicenses for online casinos and the absence of supervision, Curaçao is popular with (including Russian) criminal organizations that want to launder their profits from drug, arms and human trafficking while they themselves stay out of the picture.
Under pressure from the Netherlands, the Curaçao government is working on a revision of the legislation for the online gaming industry. However, it seems that the companies that benefit the most (including wholesalers in sub-licences, trust offices, accountants and lawyers) have major political influence, so that the intervention is only cosmetic: the gambling companies remain exempt from tax and supervision is subject to strict supervision. left to the industry.
Two weeks ago, the journalistic investigation platform Investico, weekly magazine De Groene Amsterdam and radio program Argos revealed that by facilitating online gambling, Curaçao has developed into a true money laundering mecca that involves hundreds of billions of dollars every year. The online gaming sector's advocacy group dismissed the coverage as bad journalism.