Court May Order Theo Heyliger to Pay Millions in Port Interference Lawsuit Sint Maarten
Theo Heyliger now faces a potential multi-million-dollar payout after the Court of First Instance reaffirmed a 2023 ruling on Tuesday.
That earlier judgment held the former infrastructure minister liable for blocking the development of a shopping and
entertainment center at St. Maarten’s cruise port more than a decade ago.
This latest development stems from a $92 million civil lawsuit filed by Zebec Development NV and its owners,
Luis and Angel Gioia. They allege Heyliger used his political clout to sabotage their project after they refused to give him a cut of their expected rental income.
Crucially, Zebec’s contract required formal approval from St. Maarten Quarter Development Company NV,
a Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. subsidiary. That approval never came.
Zebec’s lawyers blamed Heyliger for orchestrating the delay, claiming he intentionally blocked the process.
Back in 2010, Zebec signed an agreement with St. Maarten Harbor Cruise Facilities NV
to develop the “Dutch Village” — a complex of 16 retail outlets on a 13,000-square-meter plot of leased land between the island’s two cruise piers.
Although the port transferred the land to Zebec in March 2012, the Gioia brothers claim the project stalled shortly after they turned down Heyliger’s demand.
According to court testimony, Luis Gioia said port authorities quickly blocked their attempts to begin construction.
He added that Mark Mingo, then-CEO of the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies, later sent Zebec a termination letter citing failure to start on time.
Soon afterward, Ocean Drive Properties NV replaced Zebec as the project developer.
Zebec alleges Heyliger pushed for this change because Ocean Drive’s owners —
Deepak “Danny” Ramchandani and Prem “Peter” Mirpuri —
had allowed him to collect portions of their rental income for years.
In the 2023 hearings, Heyliger denied the allegations.
He insisted he held no official role at the port and had no motive to stop the Dutch Village project.
He also claimed the matter had already been resolved, referencing a $10 million payment Zebec previously received from other involved parties.
However, the court’s interim verdict in October 2023 painted a different picture.
It described Heyliger as the “lord and master” of the port and accused him of deliberately undermining Zebec’s plans with help from Ramchandani, Mirpuri, and Ocean Drive.
Still, the court stopped short of assigning damages, stating Heyliger hadn’t been given enough opportunity to challenge the accusations.
To ensure fairness, the court allowed Heyliger to present additional witnesses.
But by Tuesday’s ruling, his legal team had failed to provide the required names and addresses, despite multiple reminders.
That silence prompted the judge to conclude in February that Heyliger no longer intended to fight the lawsuit.
As a result, the court finalized Heyliger’s liability.
The amount he must pay will be determined in a later ruling. Given Zebec’s $92 million claim against five defendants, Heyliger’s final bill could reach into the millions.
Meanwhile, the case proceeds with the defense mounted by Ramchandani, Mirpuri, and Ocean Drive.
They still have an opportunity to submit counter-evidence. The court has scheduled the next hearing for June 24.
Regardless of the outcome, Heyliger retains the right to appeal.
If he does, the matter would move to the Joint Court of Justice. Heyliger is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for unrelated bribery and money laundering convictions.