It was decided that the two Venezuelan suspects, Neisy Palma-Villega and Jean Carlos Franzoni, could go home while the Portulaca investigation continues. Both of them work for Pelca Development, the owner of the Hyatt Place building in front of Aruba Airport. Their lawyer requested to suspend their detention, which both the prosecutor and the examining magistrate agreed to.
There is no reason to keep the two of them in KIA any longer. After being incarcerated for three days at the police station, they were sent to KIA pending the investigation, which followed based on interrogation and confrontation with evidence in the case.
The one who did not have the same luck is the 53-year-old suspect Nedilia B. Dabian, born in Colombia. She is a permit processor, which is why she is considered to have an essential role in this case. She was kept in prison due to the lack of further interrogation and the danger of her talking to other involved suspects. Her detention was therefore extended by 30 more days.
Active Bribery
It seems that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has divided the investigation into sections. Now it has started with the “active bribery” part. These are those who attempted or managed to bribe a public employee and/or minister to move and obtain a permit that the person should not have received or received so quickly. Two Venezuelans who obtained residence and work permits in Aruba were detained. The permit processor who arranged their permits through DIMAS and eventually with the help of coordinators at the Ministry of Integration and Labor was also detained.
Passive Bribery
There is still a section to reach, which is passive bribery. This refers to those who may have taken money or favors to handle residence or work permit matters. There are still three more suspects, who are at home suspended from work but not yet detained. These include the Minister’s Coordinator, Elena Dorothaal, DIMAS employee Iraima Croes, and former Minister’s advisor Andin Bikker, Raymond Arends, who hasn’t been working at Cocolishi for a long time. At DIMAS, employee Sandy Dirks has also been denied entry. At Cocolishi, in the Ministry of Integration and Labor, the searches have also included the Minister’s Coordinator, Edgard Arends.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that they are investigating the period from 2020 to 2022. Glenbert Croes became Minister of Integration in November 2021. Thus, it is likely investigating a period where there were two different ministers for the same ministry.
Nedilia Dabian
What makes this case a bit more intriguing is that this is not the first time that Dabian has been detained. In April of 2022, she was detained and also ended up in prison, but for a drug case. Now she is involved in an investigation related to corruption involving residence and/or work permits for foreigners. She is a permit processor, but as it shows, she pays civil servants or others to achieve her clients’ objectives. It is mentioned that she was very close to the former ministry coordinator, Raymond Arends.
Regarding Portulaca
On June 4, 2024, the National Criminal Investigation Department, under the guidance of the examining magistrate, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and in cooperation with the Aruba Police Force and RST (Recherche Cooperation Team), conducted searches at six locations, including two houses, two businesses, the Government Office (Ministry of Integration, Labor, and Energy), and DIMAS. These searches took place within the framework of a National Criminal Investigation into possible corruption and other punishable acts related to the granting of residence permits between 2020 and 2022. This investigation has been named ‘Portulaca’.
During the searches, data carriers and administration were seized. Three people were arrested on the same day.
The Portulaca investigation revolves around the question of whether companies could have obtained residence permits for their employees based on reasons that do not comply with the law.
