Government does about-face on Companies Registry

This one came from Belmopan late this afternoon like a bolt out of the blue and without any explanation other than a very terse press release. We’ll sell it just how we bought it. That is Cabinet today decided to “end the arrangement” under which Belize’s Companies Registry is run by a privately owned corporation and “is taking steps to ensure that there is a full refund of stamp duty paid to the Registry in connection with the sale by the Government of B.T.L. shares to Ecom Limited and Sunshine Holdings Limited.”

This news comes in the wake of revelations that Government paid two point two million dollars in stamp duties to the registry on behalf of Ecom and Sunshine, the lion’s share of which was retained by the Registry as its normal split with G.O.B. Normally, stamp duty on share sales is paid by the buyer or in some transactions involving government, is simply waived.

Today’s announcement comes as nothing less than a shock for many reasons. The first is that the present government virtually never admits it made a mistake. The second is that instead of merely rescinding the transaction, Cabinet has cancelled the entire structure. That move, which must involve the abrupt breaking of a valid contract, could only be done with the consent of the company’s owners, a majority of whom are said to be very close to Government.