Dear Ms. Ramos,
I write to take umbrage with certain unsubstantiated and damaging allegations made about the role of the Central Bank (CB) in your headline story titled “Whodunit?” in your Amandala, Tuesday Issue No. 2337 of Wednesday, June 10, 2009. I write specifically about your section captioned “Was the Central Bank sleeping at the wheel?” and in particular to your overreaching conclusions contained therein. I quote:
“It is clear (emphasis mine) that one of two things happened: either the Central Bank completely missed the fact that false money transfer transactions were indiscriminately being conducted in other people’s name, or they knew and willfully turned a blind eye (emphasis mine) to what was happening.”
“The Central Bank only (emphasis mine) pulled the plug on MoneyGram’s Central American Boulevard agent after its owners were indicted by the Financial Intelligence Unit on money laundering charges in January 2009.”
Also, regarding the Western Union incident of 2004 you wrote:
“The media had then reported that the branch of Western Union had been under FIU investigation for questionable transactions, and the Central Bank had pulled the plug and cancelled their operating permit, but details as to what had caused the authorities to clamp down on the operations were sketchy.”
While opinionating in this manner may make for sensational reporting, nothing I said in our interview or read otherwise in your story support the damaging incriminations in the first two quotes. Your erroneous reporting of this issue as it relates to the CB role has done not only significant damage to the valued image and credibility of the CB, but also to the credibility of your article.
Any allegations as serious as have been made that impugn the integrity of the CB should be substantiated by some evidence. The absence of any such evidence should not give way to speculative opinionating that serves to influence public opinion, especially given the fact that it is illegal to disclose information on an ongoing money laundering investigation. If indeed, you have evidence to the statement that CB staff had prior knowledge of this scheme and deliberately failed to take action then you should provide same to the Director of the FIU to aid in her investigations.
With regards to the third quote above relating to the Western Union incident of 2004, I recall that while I withheld my comments on the grounds that I was not working at the CB at the time, you accurately pointed out that it was the Western Union agent who had voluntarily surrendered its license and closed shop. As you stated in your article “(the) agent had claimed at the time that the market was not conducive for the amount of agents that were in operation”, so it was indeed perplexing to see that you still chose to write that it was the CB that “pulled the plug”.
When the CB grants interviews or issues public statements, we place heavy reliance on the integrity of the media to disseminate and use that information in an objective and responsible manner. My experience with Amandala and a few other media houses had given me some expectations, that at the very least, I would be quoted or interpreted with some degree of accuracy and, more importantly, in context. That is the reason why I chose to return your missed call well after 5:00 P.M. on Monday and then agreed to wait another ten minutes for your return call when you explained that I caught you in traffic on the way to your office.
As you rightfully pointed out, the innocent victims of this crime are numerous so let us not do anything further to create more victims or prejudice the FIU’s investigation.
Respectfully
Glenford Ysaguirre
Governor
Central Bank of Belize
Adele replies:
Dear Mr. Ysaguirre,
Thank you for your letter, which appeared in my inbox this evening at 3:10. Since you demand “comparable exposure without undue delay,” I am forced to make a quick reply to your concerns and recriminations of me.
First, you refer to “unsubstantiated and damaging allegations” made about the role of the Central Bank, but failed to say exactly what those “allegations” are. Exactly what did I accuse the Central Bank of doing? It would have been nice if you could have substantiated that with a quote from my article.
Indeed, the article raised fair questions about the vigilance of the Central Bank where the Coye sub-agent of MoneyGram was concerned. Hence the subtitle, Was the Central Bank sleeping at the wheel?
The first quote you cited never imputed any guilt, but posed two scenarios. Incredibly, you chose to highlight only one. My question is, Mr. Governor, why did you ignore the first scenario? And if neither of these scenarios apply, then you, as the head of the institution, could have used your very detailed letter to address this point rather than making ad hominem attacks on me.
I agree with you, this is not a private issue and to quote your second letter to me tonight, it is “a matter of national import.” Indeed, we now hear that thousands of drivers license holders were affected by actions of fraud. So Belizeans have the right to ask whether the authorities did all they could to prevent that. Therefore, I as a journalist have the right to ask the questions.
You accuse me of making allegations against the Central Bank and claim that I made a “statement that CB staff had prior knowledge of this scheme and deliberately failed to take action.” Please show me where that appears in my article. (Maybe you were reading another article?)
In answer to your points on the Western Union incident, I did say that there were media reports that said that the Central Bank had pulled the plug. I also took care to give the agent’s side, claiming economic reasons for the closure. I fail to see where the problem lies there. If you don’t believe that’s what the media said then, please check Channel 5’s news archives. The link is:
http://www.channel5belize.com/archive_detail_story.php?story_id=12339.
Incredibly, you allege that my article has done “significant damage” to the reputation of the Central Bank, through “speculative opinionating.” Tonight, your second letter, insisting we publish your rebuttal posthaste, explains that since October 2008, the Central Bank has been working “to restore the integrity and credibility of this institution.” I truly understand that.
I have to express my gratitude that you indeed afforded me an interview after hours on Monday. You were aware that one key thing I wanted to know, on the record, was whether the MoneyGram transactions had sent up any “red flags” for the Central Bank. Fair enough, you were not the governor then! I just thought you may know the answer to that very critical question.
It is unfortunate that you took such “umbrage” to the contents of my article. My intention was never to cast blame, but instead to raise some very legitimate questions that demand answers that are as articulate as the letters you sent me.
Thanks for the opportunity to deal with these issues publicly!
Best regards,
Adele Ramos
Assistant Editor
Amandala