In the money laundering case against alleged drug trafficker Piet W., the Dutch police will try to interview Surinamese vice-president Ronnie Brunswijk as a witness. Brunswijk (photo) would have to explain whether a stock of gold bars belonged to him or to W. This is what the Algemeen Dagblad writes.
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Last summer, W. said that he sold millions of gold for Brunswijk. He answered questions about photos of gold bars found on his phone.
The Public Prosecution Service called Piet W.’s explanation ‘highly unbelievable’, but now wants to ask the police to interview Brunswijk. Lawyer Ruud van Boom says: ‘As a Public Prosecution Service, you cannot say that the statement is incorrect, but then not investigate it.’
The hearing should take place sometime in the coming months. Brunswijk was convicted of cocaine trafficking in the Netherlands and is still associated with cocaine trafficking.
Rolls Royce
Piet W. is a Dutchman of Surinamese origin, who has lived in Suriname since 2017. Last summer, the police raided his Surinamese home. He was already in custody in the Netherlands for the money laundering case. In the past, W. was convicted of large-scale cocaine trafficking.
Justice is now prosecuting him for money laundering because of his extremely luxurious lifestyle, with expensive holidays, a Rolls-Royce, two Mercedes and an Audi A8.
He is said to own gold worth 6 million euros.
Gold is currently very popular with drug criminals to launder money.
Goldmine
Piet W. says that he obtained gold from Surinamese gold mines, but that part of the gold that the justice department attributes to him belonged to Brunswijk.
But investigators have interviewed witnesses in Suriname in recent months, including the owner of the mine in Suriname. This man denied that W. had had anything to do with his company.
Another explanation from W. about his assets is that he would have received an inheritance in Suriname. The justice department says it checked this in Suriname and found nothing to be found.
Lawyer Van Boom states that W.’s mother was indeed rich, including owning 25 hectares of agricultural land.
