Agreement with Public Prosecutor removes obstacle to Mike de Meza’s ministerial eligibility

ORANJESTAD – The tax-related case that for more than a year stood in the way of Mike de Meza becoming a minister in the AVP-FUTURO government has taken a major turn. The AVP parliamentarian announced Tuesday afternoon that he had reached an agreement with the Public Prosecutor’s Office (OM), under which he will pay Afl. 2,500 as a settlement without having to admit guilt to the allegation that he failed to properly comply with his tax obligations.

According to De Meza and his legal team, the agreement also removes the criminal-law obstacle that had prevented him from completing the screening process as a candidate for ministerial office. Based on the information presented during the press conference, his current legal situation should now allow De Meza to obtain the declaration required as part of the screening process and, consequently, become eligible for ministerial office again.

The development could mark the end of a case that began during the formation of the AVP-FUTURO government in early 2025.

Mike de Meza was originally selected as the candidate to head the Ministry of Infrastructure, Energy and Telecommunications. However, his appointment could not proceed alongside the rest of the cabinet in March 2025 after his tax screening at the Department of Taxes (DIMP) encountered problems.

During the proceedings that followed, DIMP indicated that De Meza and his wife had not submitted all required tax returns for 2020 and 2021. There were also observations concerning his previous tax compliance. De Meza, for his part, maintained that the matter resulted from differences in interpretation and that at the time he had no outstanding personal tax debt. Later, according to information presented in court, the filing and payment obligations that could be regularized were fulfilled.

De Meza went to court in an effort to obtain a favorable tax declaration, but in June 2025 the Court ruled that it did not have the authority to compel DIMP to issue such a declaration. The Court regarded DIMP’s letters as information provided to the formateur, rather than as an administrative decision that could be appealed through that procedure.

THE CASE THEN BECAME MORE SERIOUS.

During the screening process, it emerged that the Public Prosecutor’s Office was treating De Meza as a suspect in a criminal investigation related to tax matters, following a report from the tax authorities. This created an additional obstacle to his appointment as minister because, under the National Ordinance on the Integrity of Ministers, judicial screening forms part of the process for ministerial candidates.

De Meza initiated several proceedings in an attempt to compel the Public Prosecutor’s Office to provide greater clarity about exactly what he was suspected of. Ultimately, in October 2025, the Court of Appeal concluded that the Public Prosecutor’s Office had acted within its authority and that, during an ongoing criminal investigation, it was not required to disclose more information than the law required at that stage.

Meanwhile, the AVP could no longer continue waiting, and Rene “Baba” Herde was appointed minister, completing the AVP-FUTURO cabinet.

In 2026, the investigation against De Meza entered a new phase. The Public Prosecutor’s Office presented a proposed settlement, which De Meza initially did not accept. In June, NoticiaCla had already reported that the parliamentarian was still evaluating the OM’s offer.

In July, De Meza’s defense publicly indicated that, after an earlier offer had been rejected, the Public Prosecutor’s Office was preparing to take the matter to court, with a hearing scheduled for August 24. The defense maintained that there was insufficient factual and legal basis for a criminal case against De Meza.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, CHANGES THE SCENARIO.

According to De Meza and his lawyers, there is now a final agreement with the Public Prosecutor’s Office under which he will pay Afl. 2,500 as a settlement, while not admitting guilt to the allegation that he failed to comply with his tax obligations.

The distinction is important: a settlement is not the same as a conviction handed down by a judge. According to the defense, resolving the matter in this way also removes the impediment that the criminal investigation had created in De Meza’s screening process.

Politically, this could have significant consequences.

Mike de Meza lost his opportunity to join the AVP-FUTURO government in 2025 precisely while the tax and criminal proceedings remained pending. If his legal position has now been fully regularized and he can successfully complete the required screening, an important obstacle to a future ministerial appointment disappears.

This does not automatically mean that De Meza will become a minister. An appointment remains a political and constitutional decision. But according to his defense, the problem that blocked his ministerial candidacy for more than a year has now been resolved.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office has not yet published a statement confirming all of the conditions presented during De Meza’s press conference.

Another consideration, according to De Meza’s defense team, was whether to proceed to court. The defense argued that even if De Meza were to go to court and win, an appeal by the Public Prosecutor’s Office could extend the process for as long as four years. According to his legal team, no one wanted to wait that long.