FROM A
DIFFERENT ANGLE by Kenneth Rijock
DIFFERENT ANGLE by Kenneth Rijock
Financial Crime Consultant, for World-Check
Why did Venezuela send $10m indirectly to Belize and where is that money now?
31 May 2008
This weeks' filing of 79 counts of money laundering against the Bank of Belize has a hidden back-story; the whereabouts of a mysterious payment of $10m from the Government of Venezuela direct to the Bank of Belize. Purportedly transmitted for the benefit of the Government of Belize, the funds transfer reportedly contained specific instructions which were not followed. Inasmuch as the Bank of Belize is the country's largest commercial bank, will this turn out to be the worst case of trans-national corruption seen this year? Read on and decide whether Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) were involved.
We continue with the disturbing story:
Who in BANDES will come forward and explain why $10m was sent to a private bank, when the ultimate destination was the National Treasury of Belize, and which corrupt Venezuelan and Belizean PEPs financially benefited from the transaction? Where is the $10m?
- The payment at issue was transmitted from Venezuela's governmental development bank, Banco de Desarollo Economico y Social, more commonly known as BANDES, to the Bank of Belize. The transfer bore following instructions: " Single Disbursement to Government of Belize for construction and repair of housing."
- Belize media states that the payment was sent to the Belize Bank's correspondent account at a major US bank, located in the United Kingdom. We wonder whether the US bank's compliance department requested further information on funds coming from a government-controlled financial institution in a high-risk country. And who specifically authorised this method of payment?
- Apparently the funds were not released to the Government of Belize, who later filed suit to recover them.
- The most troubling aspect of this affair is the rumour that some of the funds are now missing. Was a portion of the $10m "diverted" by corrupt officials of BANDES enroute, or after arrival in Belize? We cannot say, but such events have been seen before.
- When Venezuela purchased millions of dollars of Argentinian bonds, to bail out its troubled economy a few years ago, substantial amounts of the funds were diverted during the closing and processing phases, and several Venezuelan bankers reportedly became instant millionaires. id this happen here?
- Here, we have a funds transfer that transits a private bank route to the national treasury, resulting in a failure to arrive at its intended destination; the funds are reportedly now short, and whether they still remain in the bank is a question of fact.
- On or about the same time, the Government of Venezuela sent another $10m payment to the Government of Belize, but this one went via the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to the Central Bank of Belize. Why wasn't the other payment also routed through official channels? Was there a hidden agenda?
Who in BANDES will come forward and explain why $10m was sent to a private bank, when the ultimate destination was the National Treasury of Belize, and which corrupt Venezuelan and Belizean PEPs financially benefited from the transaction? Where is the $10m?
The facts and opinions stated in this article are those of the author and not those of World-Check. World-Check does not warrant the accuracy of any facts and opinions stated in this article, does not endorse them, and accepts no responsibility for them.
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