Earlier in the month we were told that the former Ennia Insurance owner, Iranian American businessman Hushang Ansari, 1927 – 2026, passed away.

I wrote about the ENNIA and the scandals surrounding that company several times, beginning with 2018, when the CBCS, Centrale Bank van Curacao en Sint Maarten, requested emergency measures for that company.

We know that insurance is a risky business, but we did not realize how risky it is. For quite a few years we have been reading articles from St. Martin about Ennia, about irregularities but then the hurricanes came and that insurance company that promises worry free living, was in financial trouble, and could not meet its obligation. In fact, that company was in distress way before the hurricane struck. The wind and water only aggravated the situation.

The story of Ennia involves all kind of important people and deserves a movie script. Basically, a very shrewd businessman by the name of Hushang Ansary who was the Minister of Economic Affairs to the deposed Shah of Iran, escaped to the U.S. with his fortune, in the billions, when the Ayatollah Khomein took that country over. Ansary settled down to operate in the U.S. and had substantial business deals going on in the Dutch Caribbean.

Ennia was one of his businesses. He also owned Banco di Caribe, once upon a time.

(These days, our interest in Iran had increased. The late Shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, the Crown Prince, who has been living in Washington DC, move to Paris last year, to help fan the flame of revolt in his homeland. If you have been following you know that the former flag, the imperial Lion and Sun flag has been seen flying in the violently crashed demonstrations in Iran recently.)

Ansary was once considered a member of “the Shah’s Inner Circle,” by the CIA, so it is safe to assume he learned a trick or two by serving the Pahlavi imperial family during his most formative years. As a former member of one of the most corrupt and totalitarian regimes, he treated company money as his own, and spent it.

In essence, Ansari left ENNIA high and dry syphoning vast amounts of money from that company, over 570 million euro, leaving a big hole in the budget. (The courts finally held him liable for an approximate sum of 522 million euro, rather than the previously claimed 1 billion.)

The watchdogs, who were supposed to watch the cash failed in their mission including the accounting firm, the board, and the Centrale Bank van Curacao en Sint Maarten.

Over time, Ennia was reorganized according to Life, Damage and Health categories, and became Ennia Caribe Schade NV, Ennia Caribe Zorg NV, while Aruba broke away as Ennia Caribe Leven Aruba and Ennia Caribe Shade Aruba NV, under the solid supervision of Aruba’s Central Bank.

Today this column remembers the master embezzler, for leaving a huge financial hole, when pensioners who saved for their retirement needed to be rescued by the Ennia Resolution plan, agreed upon by CBCS and the governments of Curacao and Sint Maartin.

Honesty should be expected, but never presumed.

I wrote about the opening of Princess Casino this week. At the time I did not know that the local banks have turned down their application for a bank account.

But this is not new.

When the Aura Casino, at Occidental Grand Aruba, now Barcelo Hotel, closed in 2015, it turned out post-bankruptcy, it was operating without a bank account. The post-mortem reported irregular transactions and other procedural violations. When the operator disappeared, he left unpaid rent, and 44 employees without work, it highlighted issues in casino licensing, labor laws and financial transparency.

The banks here are cautious, not wishing to be burnt. Anti–money laundering and counter–terrorism financing laws, are strictly upheld here, regulating customer due diligence.

In the case of Princess Casino, when taken to court, the banks defended their position explaining that they have obligations toward their clients and cannot risk their good standing in international banking circles. Any irregularity could damage their relationships with international correspondent banks and make international transaction from Aruba impossible.

There is a lot at stake, they said.

From a reader’s point of view, common sense dictates that you take care of all requirements BEFORE you open, even before you build. And those who granted the casino license should have made it contingent on securing a bank account.

Princess casino held a public opening, invited us all to a party, ahead of crossing all their t’s and dotting all their i’s.

That property did the same with its beach exploitation permits. It attempted to regulate it after the fact.

Developer Natura NV and operator Princess Casino, made the investment first, thinking permits and licenses will automatically follow.

For the opening, the casino invited the government including the prime minister. The minister of Economic Affairs and Finance made an appearance praising the investment. Did he know the joint opened without a bank account. No. How would he know that a business has the audacity to open without one?

The Aruba Bank, Caribbean Mercantile Bank (CMB), and RBC, defended their position in court, last week, when Princess Aruba, the operator of the casino at the Embassy Suites, tried to force them to accept it as a client.

As reported in 24ORA: Princess Casino opened its doors on January 14th, but it does not have a local bank account. Despite investing about USD 5 million over two years to create a first-class casino, Princess claims it was denied a basic payment account by all local commercial banks at the last moment.

In the case of RBC Bank, Princess casino argued, it already has a relationship with the bank via Princess’s casino in Sint Maarten. RBC responded that each country has its own regulatory framework and central bank, and that conditions in Sint Maarten and Aruba differ.

CMB cited serious reputational concerns regarding Princess’s ultimate beneficial owner, UBO, alleging involvement in activities that raise suspicions of illegality. And Aruba Bank referred to its case with the container yard and its operator Otmar Oduber where the bank claimed it had no general obligation to open accounts. Because Banco di Caribe was still evaluating the case, the banks stated that not all avenues were closed, and forcing their hand was premature.

Bottom line: Since the survival of Aruba’s banking sector depends on those correspondent relationships abroad, the banks stated they cannot risk them by entering a commercial relationship with Princess.

Why wasn’t the paperwork taken care of ahead of time?

Let us see what the judge says on February 5th.

Accidents? We’ve had too many

https://batibleki.wheninaruba.com/accidents-weve-had-too-many/

Integrity Was Promised. Corruption Kept Winning, written by a reader

https://batibleki.wheninaruba.com/integrity-was-promised-corruption-kept-winning-written-by-a-reader/

What a picture can tell, about the airport

https://batibleki.wheninaruba.com/what-a-picture-can-tell-about-the-airport/

Gaia hosts an exclusive press tasting event

https://batibleki.wheninaruba.com/gaia-hosts-an-exclusive-press-tasting-event/

Princess Casino is the 13th casino on the island

https://batibleki.wheninaruba.com/princess-casino-is-the-13th-casino-on-the-island/

Hospitality in numbers, from an AHATA press release

https://batibleki.wheninaruba.com/hospitality-in-numbers/

The Aruban hotel sector finished 2025 with three more hotels than in calendar year (CY) 2024 which increased the number of hotel rooms by about 800 rooms, or 12%, which, for Aruba, is unprecedented in recent years.

Because of this rapid expansion in rooms, average room occupancies fell from 82% to 76% as demand for hotel rooms did not grow as fast as the increase in the number of rooms. In fact, according to the ATA through the end of November 2025, the number of visitors staying in hotels only grew by 5% and the number of hotel nights only grew by 3%.

This was partly due to many visitors preferring to use “other accommodation” (mostly short-term rental accommodation), with the overall number of such visitors growing by 13% compared with the same 11 months of 2024, but may also have been a result of the higher prices charged in 2025 vs 2024. Because, even though average occupancies fell across the board, the hotels saw a 12% increase in their average room rates in CY 2025 compared with CY 2024. So even though demand slowed, prices went up. Now admittedly that is partially due to the injection of three brand new hotels with high end product category (and thus relatively high room rates) into the mix but also reflects the general increases in room rates across the board.

The basic point that AHATA is making is that the combination of more rooms plus higher room rates will result in substantially higher room tax income to the Government and to ATA, which gets 57% of the room tax to fund its operations. About 19% more in 2025 than in 2024.

Now it is interesting when you compare Aruba’s numbers with the hotels in the rest of the Caribbean

Looking at the regional hotel performance numbers through the end of November 2025 the Caribbean overall saw a slight 0.4% increase in ADR compared with the same 11 months of 2024, with substantial growth only in the high end destinations such as Saint Lucia (+16%), Grenada (+14%), and Barbados (+12%) while mid-market destinations such as the Dominican Republic (+0.3%), Cancun (-0.7%), and Jamaica (-7.0%) saw little change or declines in room rates

So Aruba’s hotel rates grew substantially more than for the major competitors.

Would be interesting if DIMP disclosed how much tax money flows into the government’s pockets from hospitality, in the name of transparency.

Members of AHATA: Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort, Aruba Ocean Villas, Barceló Aruba, Boardwalk Boutique Hotel, Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, Courtyard by Marriott, Divi & Tamarijn All-Inclusive, Eagle Aruba Resort, Embassy Suites by Hilton Aruba, Holiday Inn Resort Aruba, Hyatt Regency Aruba, Hyatt Place Aruba Airport, JOIA by Iberostar, Manchebo Beach Resort, Marriott Aruba & Stellaris Casino, Ocean Z Hotel, Paradera Park, Privada Stays, Radisson Blu Aruba, Rehoboth Peaceland Boutique Hotel, Renaissance Wind Creek Aruba Resort, The Ritz-Carlton Aruba, RIU Palace Aruba, RIU Palace Antillas, Secrets Baby Beach, St. Regis Aruba, TRYP by Wyndham Hotel, voco Surfside.

Timeshare members of AHATA: Divi Aruba Phoenix, Divi Dutch Village, Divi Village Golf, La Cabana, Marriott Ocean Club, Marriott Surf Club, The Mill Resort.

In the late 90s, PWC was asked by a certain casino owner to research the casino business on the island. At the time, we had about 9 or 10 casinos on the island.

PWC tallied the number of slot machines, tallied the number of table games, shuffled the numbers, and reached the conclusion that we were saturated. We had twice as many slots, twice as many table games, as the Bahamas, which at the time received more visitors than Aruba.

The research paper also addressed the burn out, the drug and alcohol abuse and the general discontent that is usually prevalent among casino workers. It was interesting to read.

A blue invitation card arrived in the mail just recently, asking me to join the festivities in honor of the opening of Princess Casino, at Embassy Suites Resort.

I went.

I found a handful of media members, no ministers, no parliamentarians, no tourism executives, no resort executive. (I read later that our minister of finance and economic affairs visited and praised the investment. And the confidence in our economy.)

But a multitude of people was on hand, the regular casino-going crowd that usually graces bingo nights with its presence, an older crowd of pensioners and those looking for a social outing while playing side by side with their friends.

A casino executive, general manager Antony Easton, made the speech welcoming us all to the new two-tier gaming emporium, sharing that the Princess brand has grown into one of the largest casino companies in the world with 3,035 casinos operating across four continents.

I asked ChatGPT to confirm, he was not sure.

Yes, the casino is sprawled over two floors, with two flights of stairs in between. Slot machines on the lower parking lot level, and a mixed landscape of slot machines and table games on the main lobby floor, which also boats a nicely appointed bar and an alcove above, for the band. Rincon Boys played for the opening.

Apparently, many in the community got a blue invitation card in the mail asking them out for a fun opening soiree. It was a classic. I think I wrote the draaiboek in 1984 for the opening of the Alhambra Casino: Deviled eggs, mini lumpia, TeleAruba with Siomara doing the interviews, Carnival dancers, brass band, cocktails, a popular band, ribbon cutting, double point – make the official part short, let them all sign up for a membership card, and play.

As stated by Easton rather lengthy address, Princess casino wants to become part of the island’s story, from the very beginning, its vision was to create something that locals and visitors could enjoy together.

Aruba now has 13 licensed casinos, with around 3,900 slot machines and about 221 table, Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Caribbean Stud Poker, Three Car Poke, Baccarat, and some dedicated poker rooms. The Stellaris and the Orchid at Riu Antilles each have about 500 slot machines. Alhambra and Crystal, follow with a bit less.

The new Princess Casino boasts 138 slots and 8 tables, it’s a medium size casino. Assistant casino manager Ceyhun Ceviz, reports they are running many promotions, including giving away a car, a Hyundai accent, and during the first week/month all players receive double points on their card.

The casino will be opening a dealers’ school, paying Awg 50 a day, plus a signing bonus of Awg 1,500 for those graduating and joining as staffers.

I attempted to recreate the PWC research report and found out we have 2,140 slot machines per one million visitors, while the Bahamas has 161 slot machines per one million visitors.

Today, the Bahamas receives 8x more visitors than Aruba, including cruise ships

Aruba has about 140 tables per one million visitors and the Bahamas 18.

Please do not check my math too closely.

If any of my fellow media members did a SWAT report on casinos on the island, the WindCreek Casino at the Renaissance Marketplace would come in ahead of most, by virtue of it being centrally located and most accessible to older demographics, dropped off at the entrance by their kids.  Many other gaming establishments require stamina, to overcome parking lots, stairs, and covering considerable distances to the first slot machine.