Photo: Ricardo Borja
by Kristen Ku
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Aug. 24, 2023
The fatal shooting of Belize City businessman, Ricardo Borja, on Saturday night, August 19, shortly after he drove into the yard of his Coney Drive apartment, had prompted some members of the public to note that Borja had allegedly been involved in questionable business dealings and to speculate that maybe one of those shady transactions could have led to his death.
Reports have now emerged that on August 18, a day before his death, Borja (said to be originally from El Salvador) had reportedly testified in a leaked audio recording against an accomplice who was employed at a real estate firm in Placencia.
The two men first crossed paths in 2019 when Borja was assisting a client from Panama in acquiring land in Belize. It was alleged in the recording that with the assistance of several Lands Department employees, they fraudulently acquired vast pieces of real estate, often from deceased victims and their families.
Borja recalled managing large sums of money during their association, fabricating false reports, and paying employees from the Lands Department for sensitive records.
The illicit activities being carried out escalated to even the production of counterfeit passports. “I knew that they were creating different things. I knew that they were creating passports. I never did any passports. I never created any titles. It all started through, it all started through doing grants of administration of permits,” Borja shared in the audio recording.
However, their operation came crashing down in May when the real estate agent’s actions were exposed by his own firm. The agent then attempted to portray Borja as the person responsible for all that was done.
Nevertheless, on August 7, the firm began investigating and confronted the agent for stealing their money.
On August 11 and 18, Borja aimed to clear his name, emphasizing his limited assets, especially as a father of two. “I’m not gonna be the same idiot, where I’m just gonna be taken a fool of. I’m just gonna sink myself. I think it hasn’t hit the fan. I think it hits the fan when it’s all there. But I’m not sure how exactly it’s all there. But I’ll tell you this. You look at my assets; I don’t have a lot of assets,” he explained.
He was scheduled to present evidence, including WhatsApp messages, files, GoB corporate seal stamps, videos, photos, testimonials, and more, in a meeting with attorneys, the real estate firm, and the Government’s special crime unit on August 22.
Tragically, he was murdered three days before the scheduled meeting, after driving into his yard in the company of his girlfriend, who was grazed during the shooting.
Amandala reached out to the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams for further insight into this case, but up to press time he had not responded.
Today, KREM reporters sought to get the comments of area representative of the constituency in which Placencia is located, Hon. Rodwell Ferguson, on the alleged mastermind behind the scheme; however, he denied having any relationship with the individual.
“I have heard of him. I have no connection with him. I met him once when we won the election in 2020. There was a concern with a piece of land in Santa Cruz because I didn’t want it to go back to the community, and that was the only time I met this guy,” he asserted.
The Ministry of Natural Resources, Petroleum, and Mining is still in the process of releasing a formal statement on the case.
According to the document we obtained, additional audio recordings were made of Borja’s testimony which are in the process of being released to the public on YouTube and other social media platforms in the coming days.