An Update on the Investigation of the NSC Audit

Chester Williams

While the investigation on the alleged wrongdoing of former National Security Minister John Saldivar is yet to begin, ComPol Chester Williams says he is digging deep into another investigation; that of the National Sports Council. An audit by the Auditor General revealed that a number of persons were responsible at the NSC for questionable cash transactions. Among those named are former NSC Director Patrick Henry and former Minister of Sports Herman Longsworth, who was soon sacked by PM Barrow from his post as Consul General in New York after the report was released. Williams says that on February seventeenth, a meeting was held with the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit.   

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“The D.P.P. has met with the officers and has given certain guidelines in how to proceed with the investigation. I had a meeting with the Director of the F.I.U. on Monday afternoon and we ironed out some issues as it relates to banking information that we need to obtain for the persons of interest and we are now getting those. The Director of the F.I.U. is fully onboard; he is cooperating along with his department to ensure that the investigation goes through without any impediment. We are at a stage now where we are looking at bank statements and recording statements from certain people, interviewing certain persons. But again, as I said before, it is not a fly by night; the investigation must be done in a very meticulous manner to ensure that we don’t miss nothing that we should pick up. Again, I want to ask the Belizean people because I have heard many things—nothing will be done, the police this and the police that—for me, people just need to understand that something looking from outside in, things look easy. But when you are in the belly of the beast that’s when you know how difficult it is to do certain things. And when I say difficult, I don’t mean because of any kind of interference, but difficult in the sense that what needs to be done, there is a process in getting it done. And we need to ensure that we follow the process because if we don’t follow those processes, then when we go to court we will be wasting time.”