WILLEMSTAD--The United States Department of Justice has announced that approximately US$29.7 million in forfeited proceeds linked to an eight-year fraud, money laundering and tax evasion scheme will be returned to the Government of Curaçao in three installments.
The funds stem from a case involving Robertico A. Dos Santos, who was prosecuted in Curaçao for operating an unlicensed lottery and failing to pay taxes on income generated from the lottery and other sources.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Dos Santos orchestrated the scheme and placed proceeds from the illegal activity into investment accounts at a Miami bank. The accounts were opened in the names of companies he controlled.
At the request of Curaçao, the U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal Division, through its Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, obtained an order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia enforcing a pre-trial restraining order issued by a Curaçao court against the proceeds.
Following Dos Santos’ conviction and sentencing in Curaçao, U.S. authorities again acted at Curaçao’s request and obtained an order enforcing the final forfeiture order issued by the Curaçao court against the restrained funds.
The Justice Department said the return of the US$29.7 million recognizes both Curaçao’s financial losses and the assistance provided by Curaçao authorities in securing the forfeiture of the illicit proceeds.
The transfer is also intended to strengthen cooperation between Curaçao and the United States in the investigation and prosecution of transnational financial crime, money laundering, corruption, human trafficking and other criminal activity, as well as the recovery of proceeds derived from crime.
A signing ceremony was held in Washington, D.C., involving Curaçao Minister of Justice Shalten Hato, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Hodge of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
The recovered funds will be used over time for various law enforcement purposes in Curaçao. The Justice Department said the use of the money will be subject to regular audits by a non-profit accounting firm in Curaçao, as well as annual reviews by an external auditor.
None of the returned funds may be disbursed to Dos Santos, members of his family or businesses he controls. The terms governing the transfer, along with audit reports on the use of the money, are expected to be made publicly available in Curaçao and provided to both Curaçao’s Minister of Justice and the United States.
The case was handled by Senior Trial Attorney Teresa Turner-Jones of the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section. Assistance was also provided by the Government of Curaçao, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Department of State.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced the transfer on Thursday, September 17.
The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section is responsible for criminal prosecutions and asset recovery actions involving money laundering, financial facilitators, international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal networks using the U.S. financial system.
Its International Unit focuses on cross-border money laundering schemes involving transnational criminal organizations, foreign official corruption and related financial crimes, including efforts to recover the proceeds of those offenses.
