WILLEMSTAD–The Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a case into the clash between former Finance Minister Javier Silvania and Tax Receiver Alfonso Trona, while confidential audits detail years of irregular tax settlements under Trona’s watch. The investigation began after an October 2 leak of an audio recording of a heated exchange between the two men.
Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas has now confirmed that the inquiry covers the incident and the corruption allegations made by both sides. This follows material first disclosed to Parliament in March 2024 and later reported by NOS, showing that Trona repeatedly intervened in tax collections and payment arrangements without written justification or adherence to control procedures.
The audits, submitted by then Minister of Finance Javier Silvania in March 2024, describe how internal checks were bypassed as Trona granted special arrangements to certain taxpayers, including senior officials and politicians, in violation of fiscal rules. Files reviewed by government auditors show instructions carried out “on instruction of the Receiver,” often delivered verbally or by phone with no written rationale.
In several cases, advance payments or refunds were authorized before assessments were finalized, at times for civil servants or former politicians, based on informal requests “via phone or WhatsApp.” Silvania wrote to Parliament that “The audit reports clearly show that there was preferential treatment of certain taxpayers.” Trona has defended his conduct as within his “discretionary authority,” but auditors concluded the decisions were undocumented, unverified, and contrary to law and regulation. NOS also reported references by staff to “the drawer,” a private folder said to contain sensitive or “personal” arrangements that were not recorded in digital systems, which made verification impossible.
One case cited involves Florida Express N.V., which faced a Customs fine tied to false import declarations. After a lawful reduction by Customs, Trona personally signed a new agreement that set installments at 1,425 euros per month, with no collateral or interest, on an original debt of €2.2 million. Government accountants labeled the deal improper because the file contained no financial assessment or written reasoning, and because repayment would stretch for more than 30 years at that rate.
Across roughly 100 high-risk cases, auditors documented about 10 million guilders in questionable arrangements and advance payments linked directly to the Receiver’s actions, while stressing the total exposure could be much higher. None of the reviewed files contained the legally required justifications or calculations.
The Board of Financial Supervision later noted “structural governance problems” in Curaçao’s tax collection, and in February 2025 urged faster reform and modernization of the Tax Administration under the Landspakket agreements. Parliament never held a public debate on the audit findings.
A meeting on the conflict between Silvania and Trona, who publicly defended himself by referring to “the drawer only he knows about,” was cancelled before it began. The Curaçao Tax Administration consists of the Inspectorate, which assesses taxes, and the Receiver’s Office, which collects them. Under Trona, the audits describe power as concentrated in the latter, with verbal orders halting seizures or amending plans outside formal controls.
Curaçao Journal reports that the OM investigation referenced in the October 15 accord between the MFK party leadership and Silvania is now underway, and that Silvania resigned after that agreement. According to Prime Minister Pisas, both Silvania and Trona were summoned soon after the leak to provide statements and documents to the Landsrecherche Curaçao.
The questioning reportedly lasted almost a full day. Pisas said, “We want the investigation to run its course, but we also want to avoid a situation where a minister becomes a suspect.” He added that he doubts Silvania will be treated as a suspect, and that the resignation was intended to protect the party’s reputation. On a possible return, Pisas said the MFK’s second-in-command could come back “stronger and with renewed energy,” and later added, “I’m grooming him for 2029,” while noting the party expects to appoint new ministers for Finance and for Health, Environment and Nature to avoid overburdening current ministers.
Pisas acknowledged that some of Silvania’s remarks in the leaked audio “were unacceptable,” yet he voiced support for his former minister. He recalled that during the last campaign, fellow MFK minister Charles Cooper warned Silvania, “Be careful — don’t make mistakes. You’re our showpiece. You’re the one who’s going to bring in all the votes for us.”
Silvania previously held multiple portfolios, including Finance and GMN, and earlier Social Development, Labor and Welfare. The OM case now runs parallel to the audit trail described to Parliament and reported by NOS, a trail that points to long-standing failures of documentation and oversight inside the Receiver’s Office and to significant losses for the treasury.
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘕𝘖𝘚 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘢ç𝘢𝘰 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 25, 2024. 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴.
Source: The Peoples Tribune https://tribune-site.webflow.io//articles/om-probes-silvania-trona-clash-as-audits-flag-irregular-tax-deals
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