It should be noted that while six of the seven members of the former Council of Ministers under the UP/DP Government voted in favor of awarding the contract to TAXAND without any form of bidding, there was no official, signed agreement between TAXAND and the Government of St. Maarten. However, the previous Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto, the brainchild of TAXAND contract made at least two payments to TAXAND without a signed decree from the Governor of St. Maarten.
In an invited comment about the letter from TAXAND regarding the payments, Minister Tuitt confirmed receipt of the letter. He further explained that the lawyers for Government are busy working on a response for the company while he intends to release more information on the TAXAND scandal on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing.