The Public Prosecutor’s Office appealed the decision of the commissioner judge in the Flamingo investigation to reject the prolonged detention of Otmar Enrique Oduber. As is already known, ex-Minister Otmar Oduber recovered his freedom after being locked up for 10 days on the 20th of May. Prosecutors appealed the decision on the very same day.
Otmar Oduber was detained on the 10th of May at the office of the Landsrecherche. In stark contrast with the developments in the case, he was not detained at his home or any other public location like other suspects. Instead, he was invited to the office of the Landsrecherche and detained there. He was then moved to form the Shaba police station to KIA after just 7 days.
FLAMINGO
On the 24th of June, 2020, the Landsrecherche (DLR) executed various search warrants in cooperation with the RST (Recherche Samenwerkingsteam) and the Aruba Police Corps under the guidance of a judge. These search warrants were executed in the context of a potential criminal case of corruption and other criminal acts relating to the granting of government properties. The criminal investigation carries the name ‘Flamingo’.
The attorney general gave the Landsrecherche the order in September 2019 to start the investigation relating to information the Public Prosecutor’s office had received from the Aruban Police Corps. During the investigation, various information was received by the Public Prosecutor’s office by various people and organizations. The investigation ‘Flamingo’ is primarily focused on the irregularities surrounding the granting of commercial government-owned properties during the period of 2017 and 2019.
More specifically: the investigation is aimed primarily at the question whether one or more companies unlawfully and incorrectly received government properties between the periods of November 2017 and December 2019, in which the role of the Minister at the time is also investigated. During the search warrants, various documents and data storage devices were confiscated. From now on, the investigative team will be analyzing the contents of the administration and computers which were confiscated. The suspects and witnesses will also be heard.
