KRALENDIJK/THE HAGUE- Hardly any genuinely criminal offences in case of Integrity Violations on The BES-islands take place on St. Eustatius or Saba. But even in the case of Bonaire, most potential breaches of Integrity can be described as ‘petty crime’, according to a report compiled by the experts of DSP Group. 

According to the researchers, when comparing these phenomena to literature on corruption and administrative-integrity violations, it can be concluded that ‘grand corruption’ is not observed in the Caribbean Netherlands. 

The study suggests that there may be instances of a unilateral relationship between a public official and a third party where (financial) favors are exchanged illegally, referred to as petty crime in the literature. 

Gray area

The researchers note that even these examples are scarce, mainly involving behaviors in the gray area between political patronage, social bribery, and network corruption. ‘While such situations are undesirable according to European Dutch standards, in most cases, they do not qualify as true criminal offenses’, is the conclusion of DSP group. 

Noteworthy is also the conclusion that the issues are primarily identified on Bonaire, with fewer signals on St. Eustatius and minimal indications on Saba.