PM Barrow Opens Up About Sanctuary Belize

Since the Sanctuary Belize scandal broke earlier this month, the Government of Belize has been silent on the matter.  That is because Prime Minister Barrow and Central Bank Governor Joy Grant opted not to make a public statement on the Ponzi scheme which has left quite a number of investors out of pocket.  For fifteen years, the pyramid investment swindle operated in Belize under the guise of a real estate venture.  When it was discovered that Sanctuary Belize’s principal, Andris Pukke, was running a scam, the Federal Trade Commission quickly moved to shut it down.  But the fallout has not only affected investors, it’s also a banking nightmare.  This morning, Prime Minister Barrow spoke on the matter.

Dean Barrow

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“The Central Bank and I thought long and hard about whether we should make any public statement.  It was and still is an extremely delicate, sensitive situation and ultimately we decided we would say nothing for fear that whatever we said might have been misinterpreted.  You know, a wise fellow once said, “Silence may be misunderstood, but it can never be misquoted.”  I think that was the principle that guided us.  I want to not depart from that, so I will content myself with saying only this.  Number one: the wider jurisdiction, the wider financial sector is in no difficulty.  Central Bank has made sure to be in touch with the principal correspondent banks that service the domestic banks in particular in our jurisdiction in our jurisdiction and we are fine there.  With respect to the particular difficulties that Atlantic International Bank Limited is facing, I just want to express the sincere hope that they will be able to work through the difficulties with this American federal agency.  People should certainly recollect that this is not a criminal complaint, it’s a civil liability type proceeding, but it is nevertheless, extremely serious.  When we talk about AIBL, we’re talking not just about a bank that has been able to entrench itself in our offshore banking sector, a bank that has had a stellar reputation, we’re talking about the fact that locals are in the main the owners of that bank.  So of course, it strikes me that all Belizeans will want to wish the bank well.  In terms of exactly how they are going to handle the situation, really that is a matter about which I think they should speak to the media and the public.”