Genmardo Cromusoito, the former director of the Surinamese Postal Savings Bank (SPSB), was sentenced on Monday to 5 years in prison minus a fine of 150,000 Saudi riyals, or twelve months in prison. The ruling comes at the request of Attorney General Cynthia Klein.
District Judge Maitri Kuldeep Singh considered that the former director of SPSB had been legally and convincingly found guilty of participating in a criminal organization, in violation of the Anti-Corruption Act (Article 13 para 1a).
It concluded that Chromosweto, along with his co-defendants, former Minister Gilmore Hovdrad of Finance, former Governor Robert van Trictek of the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS) and Franaz Alibax-Hausel, Director of Legal, Compliance and International Affairs, had financially damaged the parent bank.
There was close and conscious cooperation between Chromosweto and his co-chargers. The suspect acted after consulting with Hoefdraad, as the money was provided by the CBvS. This put the bank in a dangerous financial position.
The convict has been in pretrial detention since August 13, 2020. The former bank manager wants to go home because he insists he is innocent. He has been held for nearly eighteen months.
Earlier in the day, Hausel was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 100,000 Saudi riyals to be replaced by a ten-month prison sentence.
