Attorneys battle over Central Bank directive on Venezuelan monies
The case of the Belize Bank versus the Central Bank of Belize continued today before Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh. The Belize Bank is challenging the composition and constitutionality of the Central Bank’s Appeals Board in relation to instructions regarding ten million U.S. dollars which was gifted to Belize by Venezuela and a similar amount from Taiwan. This morning, attorneys for the Belize Bank, British Barrister Vincent Nelson and Andrew Marshalleck rounded up arguments contending that under the law, the Belize Bank can appeal the directive of the Central Bank since an Appeal Board was not in place within the ten-day time frame given to the commercial bank to respond, and further that the Central Bank is not empowered to extend the length of time of the appeal. The Bank’s attorneys have also argued against the lack of impartiality and independence of the Appeals Board since two of its members are named by the Prime Minister.
Attorneys Lois Young and Pricilla Banner, representing the Attorney General, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, began their arguments just before mid-day today. In opening her arguments, Young pointed out that the claimants have not been denied their right to appeal and she reviewed the chronology of the exchange of letters between the two banks. According to Young, the records show that on March fourteenth, the Central Bank wrote to the Belize Bank demanding payment of ten million dollars into governments account and requested a detailed report of a similar gift from the Republic of China on Taiwan. The Belize Bank responded four days later, disputing the directive and stating that ten days was inadequate time to respond. The Central Bank then gave the Belize Bank an additional ten days. That extended the period to April third and by that time the Appeal Board had already been appointed so Young concluded that the claimants had an opportunity to appeal. Chief Justice Conteh adjourned the case for tomorrow when Young fell ill in court.
