Saba News News and Information from Saba Island, Dutch Caribbean
Update
In contrast with the article in the Daily Herald published earlier (see below), Koninkrijk.nu indicated that the decision to close bank accounts of clients in the Caribbean, will not be implemented immediately. They claim that Caribbean customers of ABN-Amro can keep their accounts for the time being. But according to the Dutch Minister of Finance Wopke Hoekstra, it is up to the bank to determine individually whether a bank account may be maintained.
ABN Amro sees Curacao, Sint Maarten, and the Caribbean Netherlands as countries with an increased risk of corruption or other criminal activities. Currently, there is a bill in preparation that stipulates that all Dutch nationals living outside the European Union must be able to have a Dutch bank account.
The Daily Herald wrote:
ABN AMRO sees residents of Curacao, Bonaire, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba as risky and therefore no longer wants them as customers. The five islands are considered by the bank (of which the Netherlands is majority shareholder) as areas with a high level of corruption or other criminal activity, reported caretaker Dutch Minister of Finance Wopke Hoekstra in a letter to the Second Chamber of Parliament in The Hague.
The bank makes an exception for Aruba, which is assigned a “neutral risk score.” Although people there cannot open a new account, existing ones have not been cancelled.
ABN AMRO has also suspended the termination of its relationship with clients on the other five islands because of a private member’s bill that grants Dutch citizens abroad the right to a basic current account in their homeland.
The Daily Herald.
What a shame that Saba has been considered just as criminal and corrupt as some other islands in the Catibbean.
And by the way the BES-islands should not be treated in the same way as the other three, Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten,
Especially the government of Saba should now complain officially and in public against this opinion of tha ABN-AMRO bank!
Again goes to show that not all Dutch Passport holders are equal. Plus we are all lumped in as corrupt as if corruption does not exist in the Netherlands. You penalize all the islanders for the actions of a few. Way to go Dutch Government since you own ABN-AMRO
It is a shame that we are a special municipality of The Netherlands but are still put in the well known box we have always been put in: corrupt and criminal. This goes to show that, still, Saba is part of The Netherlands when it is convenient … to The Netherlands. Hopefully our governing body will address this when they are there this week and next week. And hopefully this time it will not fall on deaf ears (don’t hold your breath).
Have been an ABN-AMRO client for over 40 years. So painful to have them informing me that they will be terminating my account. Even more than ten years after 10/10 , we are still not enough part of the Netherlands as to have a Dutch bank account.
So Sad!