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Vol. 31, Issue 7 BROOKLYN EDITION February 14-20, 2020
BANK
MONEY
GONE
Millions disappear from
Suriname’s Central Bank
By Bert Wilkinson
Just when you thought that
the administration of Surinamese
President, Desi Bouterse
could not handle another
major scandal before the May
25 general elections, the embattled
head of state and former
military strongman is now trying
to worm his way out of a
major controversy involving the
misuse of more than $100 million
from the Central Bank of
Suriname.
Local police this week arrested
former governor Robert van
Trikt and one of his business
partners after it was revealed
that he had without authorization
diverted more than $100
million in foreign exchange
deposits belonging to commercial
banks for purposes unrelated
to normal central bank
chores.
Vice President Ashwin Adhin
told the nation that some of
the money had been used by
the state to procure basic goods
including “onions and potatoes”
in addition to meeting monthly
foreign debt requirements. Hard
currency was also to be put into
the economy to stabilize a weakening
Surinamese dollar.
This triggered outrage
among banks, civil society, the
labor movement and opposition
parties as the situation as only
revealed after one of the banks
had complained about the unusual
discrepancy.
Once it was out in the open,
authorities started an intense
investigation that has now led
to the arrest of ex governor
Trikt and his business partner
after reports surfaced that a
consultancy under the control
of the ex-bank chief had been
paid large sums for consultancy
services allegedly linked to
the bank’s money. The customs
department has also moved to
seize two vehicles imported by
Congressional report on Guyana
From left, Congressman Gregory Meeks, Dr. Una Clarke, Congresswoman Yvette
D. Clarke, Senator Roxanne Persaud and Consul General Barbara Atherly, after a
community briefi ng on a congressional visit to Guyana at Goshen Temple SDA
Church Hall, iBrooklyn. See story on Page 22. Photo by Tangerine Clarke
James stands up for asylum-seekers
By Nelson A. King
New York Attorney General,
Letitia James, as part of a coalition
of 21 attorneys general, on
Wednesday fought back against
a new Trump administration
rule that will bar tens of thousands
of people from the Caribbean
and other places from
asylum if they did not apply in
a third country while en route
to the United States.
In an amicus brief, filed in
support of the plaintiffs in “Al
Otro Lada, et al. v. Wolf,” Attorney
General James and the coalition
argue in support of asylum
seekers who have already
been trapped at the border for
months due to what they call
“other unlawful policies of the
Trump administration.”
The coalition urges the
court to uphold a preliminary
injunction issued by a lower
court that already ruled in
favor of the asylum-seekers and
asserts that the Trump administration
is harming Caribbean
and other communities across
the country by imposing “dangerous
and arbitrary asylum
requirements on people fleeing
violence and persecution.”
“The Trump administration’s
efforts to repeatedly
increase the requirements for
asylum-seekers to seek refuge
has endangered the lives of
tens of thousands of individuals,”
James said in a statement.
“Instead of welcoming these
immigrants, who risked their
lives to come to this country,
President Trump and his
administration remain intent
on imposing draconian measures
that will send these
immigrants back to the danger
they came here to escape,”
she added. “Our coalition is
fighting this policy because the
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