“Nobody Has said That There is Fraud Yet…But It Looks Suspicious”

Belize’s Financial Secretary has admitted that payments linked to businesses owned by relatives of Minister Oscar Mira should have raised red flags in the government’s financial system.

In an interview with News 5, Financial Secretary Joseph Waight said the procurement records made public through leaked SmartStream documents appear inconsistent with how the system was designed to operate. “Clearly there was a breakdown in the system. It wasn’t intended to work this way,” he said. “Either somebody dropped the ball, fell asleep, or worse, they moved together on it.”

The controversy centres on hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments made by the Ministry of Defence to suppliers linked to members of Mira’s family. Many of those payments were reportedly processed in amounts below $10,000, the threshold that would have required an additional level of scrutiny from the Treasury Department.

Asked whether the pattern of payments appeared designed to avoid Treasury oversight, Waight responded, “It is possible. It looks as if there was some wilful intention there to dodge on that.”

While he noted there are legitimate circumstances where large invoices may be paid in instalments, Waight said the transactions currently under scrutiny do not appear to fit that explanation. “But not in this case,” he said. “This case looks cute to me.”

He also commented on the appearance of so‑called “ghost dots” in supplier accounts, calling the practice unusual. “First time I saw that…It took a certain amount of creativity.”

The Financial Secretary was also asked whether financial officers reviewing the transactions should have noticed the pattern. “It should have raised an eyebrow,” he admitted. Waight said he was particularly struck by reports of more than $400,000 in payments being processed in a single day through multiple transactions valued below $10,000.

An audit ordered by Prime Minister John Briceño is underway to determine whether laws or financial regulations were breached. Until that process is complete, Waight said he remains cautious about assigning blame.

“Nobody has said that there is fraud yet,” he said. “But it looks suspicious.”