Former central bank employee jailed

PARAMARIBO (CMC):

A judge on Monday sentenced the former head of the legal department of the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS), Faranaaz Hausil, to three years in jail on corruption related charges.

Judge Maytrie Kuldip Singh also imposed a fine of SRD$100,000 (one SRD = US$0.04 cents) or a further 10 months in prison, while not imposing the four-year jail term as had been requested by the prosecution.

The judge also deducted the time she spent in prison awaiting trial, meaning that she will spend a little over a year in jail following the conviction.

Hausil, who was director of legal, compliance, and international affairs of the CBvS, has been in prison since August 2020 for what the authorities claim is participating in a criminal organisation that included co-defendants Robert-Gray van Trikt, the former CBvS governor; Gillmore Hoefdraad, former finance minister; and Ginmardo Kromosoeto, the former director of the Surinamese Postal Savings Bank.

The judge, in reducing the sentence, noted that Hausil was a first-time offender.

The judge noted that while the former CBvS employee was under pressure to engage in criminal activities, she should have known much better as the legal head of the bank and as a member of the Central Accounts Service.

The judge said that her actions caused serious damage to the Central Bank.

In December last year, Hoefdraad, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on corruption charges and also fined SRD500,000.

The government had charged Hoefdraad as part of a criminal conspiracy to defraud the central bank while he was serving as finance minister. According to the Interpol notice seeking his arrest, Hoefdraad faced charges of “participation in a criminal organisation,” breaking the anti-corruption act, embezzlement, and “aggravated embezzlement”.

Hoefdraad, who was sentenced in absentia, served as CBvS governor between 2010 and 2015 before becoming minister of finance for president Desi Bouterse, who held office between 2010 and 2020.