Mira Millions Update: Briceño Says PUP Government Is Not In Crisis

Prime Minister John Briceño is rejecting suggestions that his administration is in crisis, even as Minister of Defence Florencio Marin Jr has requested a leave of absence amid the ongoing “Mira Millions” investigation. The leave is expected to last 90 days.

Asked this morning whether the scandal was creating a crisis for his government, Briceño rejected the characterisation outright. “No, it’s not creating a crisis. Remember, it’s 26 of us,” he said.

The comment came after Briceño confirmed that Marin called to request the leave, saying it would allow the auditor general’s office to continue its investigation into the Ministry of Defence without any perceived interference. According to Briceño, Marin maintains he did nothing illegal but believes stepping back is the right move for the government while the audit runs its course. “He believes that he didn’t do anything illegal, but he thinks that it would be best for the government, for him, to step back for the next 90 days, then we get a report and then take it from there,” Briceño said.

Marin’s decision to step aside follows weeks of scrutiny over Smart Stream invoices linking five siblings of Belmopan Area Representative Oscar Mira to millions of dollars in payments from the Ministry of Defence. The revelations prompted an official audit, and in the weeks since, Cabinet ministers and officials, from Mira himself to Minister Andre Perez to Marin, have repeatedly deferred comment to the ongoing audit rather than answer directly to the allegations.

Financial Secretary Joseph Waight has previously laid out the payment approval chain at the ministry, identifying a clerk who prepares invoices, a financial officer who approves payments, and an accounting officer who reviews and authorises them.