Belize Natural Energy (BNE) is owned primarily by a company based in Nevis (Charlestown), in the Caribbean, registered there as International Natural Energy (INE).
Amandala has learned that of the 9,500 shares held in BNE, 1 is owned by Morgan & Morgan Trust (Belize) Limited of 35 Regent Street (through Naim Musa), while 9,499 are owned by INE (Nevis).
When BNE was formed in 2002, Mike Usher, Belizean geologist (deceased), was listed among its five directors. The other four were: Susan Morrice, Jean Cornec, Paul Merriot and Sheila McCaffrey.
The only three BNE directors listed today are Morrice and Morrice’s nephew, Josh Stewart, both of Colorado, along with Patricia Usher, the wife of Mike Usher.
Together, Morrice and Stewart signed for a US$42.5 million (BZ$95 million) loan agreement on BNE’s behalf, with a Swiss bank back in 2009, purportedly “for among other things the continued development of the [Belize] project.”
The collateral for the loan are a parcel of land in Belmopan. The loan was guaranteed by CHx Belize LLP, registered in the Bahamas and owned by Morrice’s husband, Alex Cranberg.
The loan was specifically for the sums of US$22.5 million and 14.5 million Euros (equivalent today to US$20 million, together totaling the US$42.5 million.
According to Project Financing Magazine, online, NordKap AG, based in Switzerland, is the lead arranger, joined by Banco Central de Costa Rica and the Dutch development bank, FMO, the Netherlands Development Finance Company.
According to FMO, the first disbursement was for US$10 million, and disbursement was to be completed in 2009.
It was recently reported that BNE/INE shareholders had been paid dividends (which were really advances on company profits) out of loan proceeds.
BNE claims that the loan was secured following a company resolution dated 15 June 2009.
Since it struck commercial oil in Spanish Lookout, Belize, in 2005, BNE has sold over BZ$500 million (half a billion dollars) on the world market.
Back in 2006, BNE had pledged a BZ$100 million investment – US$30 million from Standard Bank in New York, USA, and US$20 million from shareholders.