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PHILIPSBURG--The Prosecutor's Office has decided not to appeal the verdict of the Court of First Instance in the so-called "Piranha" investigation, it was announced Tuesday. On May 28, the Court acquitted former Minister of Finance Hiroshi "Hiro" Shigemoto and Global Advisor Services (GAS) BV Director R.A.G. (62) of fraud and forgery, among other crimes.
The Prosecutor accused Shigemoto of performing acts as a civil servant, in his capacities as Director of Resources, Secretary-General and Minister of Finance, in such a way that suspect G. got paid while, in fact, in the vision of the Prosecutor's Office, he was not entitled to payment, spokesperson for the Prosecutor's Office Tineke Kamps said in a statement.
During two days of court hearings, on May 6 and 7, both suspects gave alternative explanations for these actions and explained why, in their vision, G. and his company had the right to get paid.
The Court ruled that it had doubts about the Prosecutor's vision on this case and acquitted both suspects.
The Prosecutor's Office had requested eight months, deprivation of the right to be elected and a five-year ban from the civil service for Shigemoto and 12 months with payment of a NAf. 233,000 fine for G.
"Given the contents of the criminal file, the prosecution sees insufficient grounds to dispel the Court's doubts on appeal. On top of that, the lack of adequate legislation on accountancy rules provides little possibility for a conviction," Kamps stated.
The Court of First Instance also acquitted Shigemoto of having acted against the National Accountability Ordinance (Comptabiliteitslandsverordening). The ordinance contains rules and regulations for government bookkeeping and payment of outstanding invoices by civil servants.
The national ordinance lost its validity when St. Maarten became a country on October 10, 2010. A new Accountability Ordinance for Country St. Maarten has not yet been made.
