WILLEMSTAD – The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Curaçao (OM) has summoned seven entrepreneurs for repeatedly failing to submit profit tax returns on time—or at all—or for refusing to provide information requested by the Tax Authorities.

In addition, six other entrepreneurs, who had previously been convicted, were summoned again for violating the conditions of their suspended prison sentences.

The court handed down a mix of rulings:

In three cases, entrepreneurs received unconditional prison sentences.

In the remaining cases, the court imposed suspended prison terms of two to four months, with a probation period of three years.

No acquittals were granted.

Warning of more cases ahead

The Public Prosecutor also issued a stern warning about an ongoing cassation procedure regarding the remission of tax debts exceeding 1 million guilders from before 2017. If the appeal is successful, these debts may still have to be repaid.

The OM noted that despite findings from the Government Accountants Bureau (SOAB) and follow-up responses from Curaçao’s Minister of Finance, Dutch State Secretary Van Huffelen, and the Financial Supervision Board (Cft), favorable payment arrangements have recently been granted without proper assessments of financial capacity.

In one striking case, this resulted in a repayment period of more than 200 years.

Authorities warn that the rulings send a clear signal: failure to comply with tax obligations will lead to prosecution and, where necessary, prison sentences.