Kralendijk- Island Governor Edison Rijna will take leave of absence during the period where he is to be questioned by detectives from he National Police (Rijksrecherche).

This afternoon a press statement was sent out where Rijna gave some background information on the case and his decision to take a leave of absence.

“On June 12, I am interrogated by the National Criminal Investigation Department. This conversation stems from the so-called Caldera investigation. This is an investigation into irregularities at DROB concerning -among other things- the wrongful allocation of pieces of land and forgery in writing in which two officials of the OLB have been identified, prosecuted and sentenced by the Public Prosecution Service”, according to Rijna.

The Governor indicates that, while the two persons involved were subsequently dismissed by local government, one of the suspects also accused Rijna, of wrong-doing.

“This declaration relates to an application that I, in 2013 as the then-director of Bon Recycling B.V. did for a piece of land on leasehold property and the construction and recycling activities afterwards on the property”, according to the statement by Rijna.

Rijna also explained that he considered the fact that he is the subject of investigation by the National Police as ‘uncomfortable’ in his position as a lieutenant governor.

“As you know, I have been particularly committed to transparent governance recently. Governance where integrity is central and where there is no room for doubts about integrity of important actors. I want to emphasize that in my role as governor, I have never done anything related to the research I mentioned. The investigation is also about a period in which I was not yet an Island Governor”, according to the statement sent out by Rijna.

Rijna also said that he was convinced he had not done anything wrong and would, in the end be acquitted of any wrong doing. Rijna said he had however decided it was better to take a short leave, why the investigation into his actions was taking place.

“This morning I called State Secretary Knops of the Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations and informed him that I will be taking leave in the coming period pending the decision of the detectives of the National Police.