Belize Bank Buckles & Agrees To Pay Back $10 million from Venezuela

Elrington apparently knew what he was talking about because 2 hours after we spoke to him, at 5:00 pm the Central Bank sent out a release saying that the Belize Bank has made arrangements to refund the US$10 million by Monday. It’s a huge victory for the government of Belize and while it may pain the Belize Bank, it has to also be a relief of sorts as the arrest warrant for Phil Johnson will now be withdrawn. And while the government has won this major battle, the war with the Ashcroft business empire continues on many other fronts. That will continue to sap its resources but the fact is that GOB now has the ten million dollars. All the talk about the ten million U.S. dollars of poor people’s money that was diverted and all those houses it could have built is now irrelevant; as of Monday, the government will have back that ten million dollars. But indications to us are that it is not quite that simple. Government sources tell us that rather than spend the money, the government may be advised to hold unto it in case it has to again return it to the bank. Best information tells us though that is only one position, and no final decision has been made. This evening we spoke to Minister of Housing Michael Finnegan and he told us that while he has not been told that the money will be repaid, he expects that it will be given to his Ministry to quote “assist poor people with housing.”