WILLEMSTAD — HB Management and Notary office Chatlein have announced through a press report that they have withdrawn themselves entirely from the company Hoordij NV established on Curaçao.
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The company wants to raffle the castle Neerbosch near Nijmegen. What’s prominent is that Hoordij had discontinued its management on December 11th, according to the Chamber of Commerce (KvK).
It was already known on December 9th, that it was illegal to raffle the castle. It is in defiance of the law concerning games of chance. Games of chance are only allowed to be held in the Netherlands by organizations with a permit, for example, the State lottery. The Ministry of Justice had therefore written the organization selling the certificates. The company Hoordij offers certificates on the internet for 150 euros each, by which people could stand a chance of winning the castle.
Halfway January, a notary would draw a certificate that claims the first prize: Chateau Neerbosch near Nijmegen along with the terrain of 6000 square meters. The castle has been up for sale since years. Until this day, the website (winuwdroomkasteel.com) is still online. The website still mentions the name of notary Chatlein as well.
Hoordij’s lawyer had informed the regional newspaper De Gelderlander previously, that the raffling falls under Antillean law and is therefore legal. Herman Behr had questioned the aforementioned in that same newspaper yesterday and stated: "We have normal legislation regarding games of chances, which does not differ much from the Dutch legislation. Hoordij does not even have a bank account on the Antilles, so where is the money from the raffling tickets going? This is illegal and we at HBM will not collaborate with that." Lucas van Hooft is the owner of the castle, and according to Behr in the article, he is also the owner of Hoordij, which company had been removed from the Chamber of Commerce register since one week.
The press report states that approx. two weeks ago, Dutch shareholders of Hoordij had approached HB Management as well as Notary office Chatlein with the announcement of wanting to sell certificates to raffle castle Neerbosch near Nijmegen. Both local bodies had immediately queried the regularity of these intentions.
"As local director of Hoordij, HB Management had immediately pointed out that the statutes did not provide for such and that the required permits had not been applied for, let alone issued. After legal advisor Nelson Navarro of Hoordij had declared that this matter had already been arranged with the local authorities, HB Management had requested a written declaration thereof. The latter had never been submitted."
According to the press report, notary Alba Chatlein, for her part, had immediately asked for all relevant documents to assess the request, as she clearly indicated that she did not wish to cooperate with an illegal lottery. "That information had not been forwarded to her yet, while a website in the Netherlands had already announced that notary Chatlein would draw the winning ticket on January 15th, 2010."
Complaint
According to Chatlein and HB Management, they had distanced themselves from Hoordij and the lottery on December 10th (one day after the announcement that the raffling of the castle was not allowed, red.). "Notary Chatlein has informed the organizers that she will definitely not cooperate and demands that her name is no longer associated with this lottery either. HB Management of Herman Behr has withdrawn as director of Hoordij. HB Management has also filed a compliant with the proper authorities regarding the state of affairs."
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