Another Land Scandal Brewing: “That Place Seems to be Riddled with Fraud”

A Belizean woman living abroad says the government allocated land her family had leased since 1993 to another person without ever informing them that their purchase application had been denied, and she is now preparing to take legal action.

Geraldine Hyde says her husband, Goldburn Sutherland, first applied for the 23.56-acre property about a mile off La Democracia on the Coastal Road in 1993. She says they maintained the lease for over 25 years, clearing portions of the land and planting fruit trees. 

When the lease concluded in 2022, the couple submitted a formal request to purchase the property, with plans to build a small resort, farming operation, and commercial shopfronts upon their retirement.

Hyde says the family followed all required procedures and received consistent assurances from the Lands Department that the application was progressing.

The situation unravelled during a visit to the department earlier this year. Hyde says she later realised that there was a possibility that the land may have already been titled to someone else, which she later confirmed. “All this time I’m going back and forth,” Hyde said. “No one told me it’s titled land, nothing.”

According to Hyde, she was later informed that a purchase price had been prepared for the family at some point, but it was never communicated to them.

Through her own enquiries at the Lands Department, Hyde says she obtained the name of the person the land was titled to. She says a Google search of that name turned up previous media coverage of another land dispute involving the same individual, deepening her suspicions.

“Whatever they’re doing there at the Lands Department is fraudulent,” she said. “I can tell you how many people were at the lands, maybe 15, 20, and they all have the same issue. That place seems to be riddled with fraud.”

Hyde says she will pursue legal action if the land is not returned to her family and is considering organising a public protest if necessary.

News 5 has reached out to CEO Paul Thompson for comment.