Reynaldo Verde Placed on Interdiction
Reynaldo Verde
Belize’s Deputy Director of the Belize Tax Services Department Reynaldo Verde is spending his third week in a U.S. jail. He was detained while transiting the U.S. on September seventh by the F.B.I. on charges of interference with commerce by means of extortion and attempted extortion. While Verde maintains his innocence, the Belize Tax Service Department has submitted a recommendation to the Public Services Commission that Verde be placed on immediate interdiction pending the outcome of the case. The principal of Orchid Bay Development Chris Williams is accusing Verde of extortion. The F.B.I. has audio recordings of conversations Verde allegedly had with Williams in which Verde offers Williams to make his tax debt disappear in exchange of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Verde is also accused of taking one thousand U.S. dollars from Williams when he was working out the details of the bribe. Acting Prime Minister Patrick Faber today commented on the issue.
Patrick Faber
Patrick Faber, Acting Prime Minister of Belize
“This is an allegation made against Mr. Verde and I believe it is reported to us that Mr Verde has been read those charges and in face he has denied any guilt in terms of this. So it is just a matter of the process taking its course. I would say, in my opinion, we need t be careful in the public service and I am not talking about politicians. We need to be careful on how we approach people where it is in fact in a position of public trust. I am not talking about Mr. Verde’s case necessarily. I am talking in general, that you have the highest standards especially when it relates to offices that have the finances, the taxes of this country at stake. We need to be very, very careful and we need to keep our head upright. We should be careful. It should be a lesson to all who are involved in the public service but also in the private sector for us to make sure we all have our head above the water and not be brought in to reproach.”
The Belize Tax Service Department has commenced its own investigation with an aim to determine if any further actions should be taken by the Department and by Police Department.
