“$200 million has been used improperly”

Government Commissioner Vijay Kirpalani on Friday’s press conference revealed that about $200 million of the money that had been put at the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS) for safekeeping has been used improperly. About $100 million from the foreign currency cash reserve and an equal amount of money from the fixed deposits has been used improperly. “The money was neither taken nor embezzled by former governor Robert van Trikt because we can see exactly what happened to the money. The money was used to carry out the interventions such as purchasing infant formula, basic goods and food parcels.

This never should have happened because nobody is allowed to tap into these accounts,” said Kirpalani who added that there is no need for the nation to be concerned because the money is not at risk. “The first thing we did after the president had informed the bank directors on Chinese New Year was to secure the money of the people. The money is safe and secure and there will be no problems,” said Kirpalani. There have been talks with bank directors and parties have agreed to carry out ringfencing so that the money can be paid back as soon as possible. “There is no reason to panic because that will only lead to more chaos in the country and we must prevent things from getting out of hand especially when it comes to the prices in the retail stores and the exchange rates. We realize that something that never should have happened has happened but we are working hard to find a solution,” said Kirpalani who added that more information will be given soon.