Hausil: “Hoefdraad, Kromosoeto and Van Trikt were the brains”

PARAMARIBO Faranaaz AlibaksHausil, director Legal Compliance and International Affairs at the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS), on Thursday told Judge Maytrie Kuldipsingh that former Finance Minister Gillmore Hoefdraad, former Central Bank governor Robert van Trikt and the former director of the Surinaamse Postspaarbank, Ginmardo Kromosoeto were the brains behind everything. She denied any involvement and explained that there was an email from Kromosoeto about state buildings that would be bought by the CBvS. “Van Trikt and Hoefdraad were involved in the matter,” said the director of Legal Compliance and International Affairs who claimed that she does not know if the buyer had paid for the buildings. She also claimed that Van Trikt gave instructions when it came to addressing the debt of the state. She had drawn up a draft debt settlement but everything went quiet after that. “Afterwards it turned out that the buildings had been paid for but that they had not been delivered to the Central Bank. “I did not mislead anybody. I am not the brains,” said AlibaksHausil who claimed that she did not do anything to protect anybody but that she only did some damage control. “In the past the bank had established multiple legal entities but it had never purchased real estate before,” said Hausil before adding that it was never the intention to deliberately violate the Bank Act. AlibaksHausil will remain in jail. Her attorneys, Murwin Dubois and Raoul Lobo, had requested her release but the judge denied it. Dubois explained that there is no indication that the suspect had committed any crimes. “It also was not proven that the suspect had money in her possession. AlibaksHausil was not in the position to have funds in her possession.” Lobo explained that a police officer concluded that the suspect was the brains behind the purchase of the buildings. “Policemen are not allowed to draw conclusions,” said Lobo. The trial will be resumed on January 12.