The prosecution requested acquittals and guilt with waiver of sentence Tuesday, January 18, after two days of trial against the president of the community of Saint-Martin in the West Indies, Daniel Gibbs, prosecuted in nine cases for favoritism, breach public procurement rules.
The Saint-Martin criminal court will deliver its decision on February 24, a month before the territorial elections of March 20 and 27.
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After already four postponements, the former vice-president, who became a UDR / LR senator, Annick Pétrus, who was also due to appear, will be judged on her side in May.
Daniel Gibbs was appearing for offenses of favoritism, breaches of contract award rules in various reconstruction cases after the devastating passage of Hurricane Irma in early September 2017.
“We were in a state of emergency”
In the French part of the Franco-Dutch island of the West Indies, the toll was 11 dead and 95% of the buildings damaged.
It is also the urgency to act in the aftermath of this storm that Daniel Gibbs and his defense put forward to justify rapid procedures for signing contracts.
In particular, Daniel Gibbs is accused of having used an expert firm without going through a public procurement procedure.
The aim was to estimate the extent of the damage to 103 public buildings and to obtain the best compensation for the insurance.
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In front of the court, the president of the Collectivity evoked “
the emergency in the aftermath of Irma
”. “
I am a politician, I make political decisions and I ask the services to do what is necessary
,” he recalls. “
The competent services did not resume their activity until several months later. We were in a state of emergency
,” he said. He is also being prosecuted for having financed by the community the works of the devastated house of a centenary of the island, the reconstruction of 400 roofs, still without a call for tenders, or the allocation of lots to companies whose some files are "
very light
", underlines the president of the court, who sees in it "
an illegal market riddled withirregularities
".
The prosecutor asked for the release on the file of the firm of experts, as well as for the case of the house of the centenary, for lack of solid elements.
This hurricane and the difficulties of the post-Irma context, "
we must not forget it
", recognized the magistrate seeing "
sincerity
" in the defendant's explanations.
Finally, on other files, the prosecutor recalled that there were longstanding lax practices in public procurement, which were officially ended in 2018, after the arrival of Daniel Gibbs.
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The magistrate considers that “
the offense exists materially
”, but wonders if everyone did their job well, and considers that “
all the decisions were appropriate for the public interest
”.
In the end, he therefore requires a conviction but asks the court to exempt this elected official from punishment.