The decision of the court to lift the criminal attachment on a money transport from Suriname of 19.5 million euros does not stand, the Supreme Court in the Netherlands ruled today. As a result of this judgment, the complaint of (among others) the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS) against the criminal attachment of the money must be re-handled and assessed by the court.

On April 17, 2018, the Dutch Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) seized a remittance of almost 19.5 million euros on suspicion of money laundering. This money consignment had arrived a few days before by plane from Suriname at Schiphol airport and had as final destination Hong Kong, where it would be converted into cashless money and then added back to the liquid assets of the Surinamese commercial banks.

The money is owned by three Surinamese banks. The CBvS was the ‘shipper’ of the money. The Surinamese banks and the Central Bank of Suriname have jointly filed a complaint against the seizure.

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