BELIZE CITY, Thurs. July 16, 2020– There was a special sitting of the Senate on Wednesday, July 15, at which multiple orders of business were addressed. Probably the most consequential of these was the tabling of the long-awaited majority report from the Senate Select Committee.

The report delves into the findings of the Committee after it conducted an investigation into the revelations that were made in a special audit report by the Auditor General concerning corrupt activities in the Immigration and Nationality Department for the period of 2011 to 2013. The 160-page report was presented by the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee, Aldo Salazar, and revealed a pattern of improper and, in a number of cases, illegal practices within the Immigration Department.

The audit by the Auditor General was initially prompted by the disappearance of eight visas from the department, which was reported back in 2012. Extensive interviews were conducted by the Committee with former employees such as Teresita Castellanos, former Finance Officer of the department; and Maria Marin, former Director of the Immigration Department, who both confirmed that there was a culture of corruption involving multiple UDP Ministers and Immigration officers which was going unchecked.

The audit unearthed a pattern of illegal activities, such as the granting of visas to persons who did not qualify to receive them, the granting of permanent residency in Belize to persons who did not meet the requirements for such residency, the disappearance of over 130 visas from the northern border station, fraudulent nationality certificates and frequent cases of Ministers intervening in the granting of passports. The names of Hon. Edmond Castro, Hon. Pablo Marin, Elvin Penner and many others were called.

The report by the Select Committee expressly states that corruption had been occurring for some time without being addressed:

“Given the nature of what we have seen from the Auditor General’s Report and the testimony before the committee, we are left with no doubt that there were corrupt forces operating within and around the Immigration Department…There is evidence that this situation was allowed or perhaps encouraged to fester under the period of stewardship of Minister Elvin Penner,” stated the report.

The Committee also documented its findings that the discontinued Economic Citizenship Program was used as a vehicle for “continued illegality,” wherein records were not properly reconciled and applications for passports were presented on the basis of non-existent economic citizenship. The committee categorized the situation in the department as unacceptable and in dire need of immediate rectification.

The findings which were shared led to statements of condemnation from multiple PUP senators who were present at the sitting. The PUP senators called for the relevant authorities to look into the matter and prosecute where necessary.