PHILIPSBURG – In a letter to the media published recently, businessman Michael Ferrier accused the newly appointed Director of the St. Maarten Tourism Authority (STA) of embezzlement during the latter’s employment at WINAIR.
Ferrier stated in his letter: “Brison was caught red-handed with both his hands in the proverbial “cookie jar”. In order not to cause havoc in his path of future advancement, WINAIR’s Management agreed not to press criminal charges against Brison, if he resigned of his own free will and agreed in writing to repay the airline the total amount of funds he “misappropriated”. Four years and four months later, Brison has yet to start paying back WINAIR, but gets employed by Government to, amongst other things, manage and direct the spending of hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of guilders that will be allocated to the SXM Tourism Authority for the promotion of Tourist Destination St. Maarten”.
Based on the new information that Ferrier has brought to light, the Minister of TEATT, Ingrid Arrindell, should provide clarity if she intends to go ahead with the appointment of Brison as the STA Director or if they will revise their decision based on the new information that has emerged.
UPDATE: In the meantime, the WINAIR documents in which Brison acknowledges misappropriation of funds and agrees to pay back the entire amount have been released, which can be viewed here.
The Minister should reverse the decision immediately now that this new information has emerged and proof of embezzlement has been confirmed.