ORANJESTAD – The Nos Ta Aruba Foundation has filed a complaint at the Aruban Public Prosecution Service against ex-minister Otmar Oduber. The current special adviser to the government of Evelyn Wever-Croes has been accused of criminal offenses, corruption, abuse of position, abuse of power, self-benefit, self-enrichment, bribe-taking, tax evasion, money laundering and the creation and participation of a criminal organization.
Otmar Enrique Oduber (47) was Minister of Spatial Development, Infrastructure, and Environment from November 17, 2017, to December 12, 2019. He was previously Minister of Tourism and Transport of Aruba from 2009 to 2016. Oduber is currently a special adviser to the Aruban Prime Minister.
Nos Ta Aruba is committed to what they call “a better Aruba”. The foundation writes extensively about official fraud and corruption in Aruba. As a result, among other things, ex-minister Paul Croes was prosecuted and convicted based on their indictment for trafficking in work permits and ex-minister Benny Sevinger who is being investigated for trafficking in government sites.
Nine complaints
Nos ta Aruba reports nine possible criminal offenses against Oduber and six people in his immediate vicinity.
For example, the ex-minister would have enriched himself through the Serlimar Act and the purchase of a waste incineration machine. Serlimar is the government’s waste management company.
He is said to have collected 20 million guilders in bribes.
In the IBIS work permits case, Oduber is said to have picked up the thread left by his predecessor Paul Croes after his conviction for corruption. Croes received a four-year prison sentence for that.
Oduber is also believed to play a central role in drug, gold and human trafficking transports along with the uncontrolled entry and exit of criminals at Aruba’s airport.
Oduber is said to be directly involved in setting up the illegal ownership structure of Aruba Airlines to facilitate the Venezuelan underworld with human trafficking from Georgetown, Guyana to Havana, Cuba.
Much of Aruba’s coast near Savaneta would be freed from surveillance in favor of illegal activities and drug trafficking under – the accusation is said – Oduber’s policies and control.
Without any tendering, a piece of land of 105,000 m2 and a permit would have been issued by Oduber to dubious project developers who have close links with drug and gold trading cartels. Three Rivers Real Estate and a 900-room hotel in San Nicolas are mentioned.
The areas around Port City are said to be divided among Oduber’s friends and sponsors. As with the indictment filed by the Fundacion Nos ta Aruba foundation against ex-minister Benny Sevinger of Infrastructure, for unlawful trade in government sites, this is the phenomenon of land grabbing.
In addition, project developers must pay 7½ per thousand of their investment to an investment fund, popularly referred to as the DIP pot, the funds of which would go to social projects. These social contributions were, according to the indictment, managed exclusively by the Minister of Infrastructure Otmar Oduber. Only he would have decided who received the money and would be refused.
The Nos Ta Aruba Foundation also argues for the reopening of the Fondo Desarollo San Nicolas case. Oduber was wrongly acquitted on March 11, 2008 in Aruba, according to the foundation. Request for reopening was made on February 10, 2020.
Accomplices
According to the Nos Ta Aruba foundation, the names of Oduber’s permanent accomplices are a recurring theme in his projects.
The Venezuelan Luis C., owner of the new Hyatt Place hotel near the airport. Gerald “Gigi” H., owner of the courier company Fast Delivery and the frontman of a well-known and convicted drug trafficker and criminal. Restaurant owner Harry K. who is mentioned in the IBIS report of the Public Prosecution Service in Aruba as a payer of money under the table in exchange for work permits.
The N. brothers involved in the OM investigation in the Avestruz case. Eroll Rudney H., the owner of Caribbean Trucking Company Aruba, Oduber’s great friend who would handle everything regarding the dump and Serlimar for Oduber.
The dubious financial advisor Alwyn L., who is involved with black money from Venezuela in Aruba Airlines, the expansion of the Aruban airport and the land trade in the Avestruz case. All belong to the Oduber’s criminal organization, according to the foundation.
Shutdown
The Nos Ta Aruba foundation also wrote to the Kingdom Council of Ministers. In it, it requests the immediate cessation of six Oduber projects and activities.
This specifically concerns the purchase of the waste incineration plant, the free-for-all policy at the airport. The ownership structure of Aruba Airlines and the facilitation of the Venezuelan underworld. The termination of two mysterious hotel projects on the water at Savaneta and the 900-room hotel at San Nicolas and the development of the Port City project.
According to the foundation, everything indicates that all these projects concern far-reaching corruption, self-interest policy, self-enrichment, black money, tax fraud, cooperating with criminal organizations, violation of aviation agreements, violation of relations with countries such as the U.S., violation of the rights of people and the UN agreement and endangering the security of Aruba and the Kingdom.
Smear campaign
In a response, Otmar Oduber says that he is no longer politically active and that he is not familiar with the complaints filed by Nos Ta Aruba foundation. After submitting the file by the Aruba.nu editorial staff, Oduber states that the accusations are not true and that they are not correct at all.
He regrets the accusations and especially the fact that names are being publicly thrown. According to Oduber, it would be a smear campaign.
