Bank denies charges of irregularities by F.I.U.

The Belize Bank today denied allegations that it violated the law in relation to a 2004 transaction that the Financial Intelligence Unit says it should have reported. In a press release today, the usually publicity shy institution said the following.

“The Belize Bank Limited wishes to inform the public that there is no substance whatsoever to the strangely timed allegation by the Financial Intelligence Unit (F.I.U.) that the bank failed in 2004 to report a suspicious transaction to the F.I.U!

The bank vehemently denies that it has acted in the manner alleged and will vigorously defend itself, and expects in due course to be fully vindicated.”

The charges filed by the F.I.U. are believed to relate to deposits made at the bank from foreign exchange transactions done through the Casa de Cambio system which prevailed at that time. As for the “strange timing” referred to in the release, one can only assume that it relates to the government’s vow to have the bank return the ten million U.S. dollars that the Musa administration diverted from a Venezuelan grant to pay the debt owed to the bank in connection with the guarantee of a loan to Universal Health Services.