The Police are not looking at Penner. What then will they investigate? Perhaps, they will investigate the persistent reports that there is a parallel passport scheme which bypasses the protocol and procedures at the Ministry of Immigration. At the press conference on Thursday, Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse admitted openly that he knows that there […]
And then there is the damning revelation of a quota system being operated by U.D.P. ministers. The Prime Minister admits to getting reports of that large scale nationality hustle, and claims that he has at every opportunity begged his ministers to “for god’s sake stop.” Here at News Five, we have consistently received credible information […]
On Thursday’s newscast, we showed you the highlights from a press conference which lasted nearly two and a half hours. The head-table was intent on looking to the future, while the media was just as intent on the here and now – specifically the ongoing immigration scandal and the involvement of former Minister of State […]
The nationality certificate obtained by Wonhong Kim, the South Korean fugitive who got Belizean nationality and passport states that Kim resides in Belmopan. There is no house number provided, but Kim’s address on the nationality certificate is simply stated as Piccini Site. Now, it is a crime to knowingly provide inaccurate information for official persons, […]
The involvement of Elvin Penner in the issuance of nationality certificates and passports has far reaching implications. Earlier today, Landy Espat, a member of the Elections and Boundaries Commission, wrote to its chairman, B.Q. Pitts. Espat, who has years of experience under his belt in the electoral process, says in his view there is great […]
At the break of the scandal, the Opposition asked Penner to resign or be recalled. Last weekend, the P.U.P. went into full gear and started the collection of signatures required to trigger a recall in the Cayo Northeast constituency. About twelve hundred signatures have been collected so far. The U.D.P. also went into motion asking […]
Tonight there is much of interest coming out of a government press conference which lasted two and a half hours at the Best Western Biltmore Plaza. The first half hour was spent outlining new measures in the nationality and passport departments – closing the gate after the horses are out, so to speak and following […]
The question was raised if the Prime Minister had the authority to allow Penner to sign nationality certificates and passports. That’s a matter of interpretation, but the PM did confirm that there is no law which confers Ministerial discretion on any Minister of State. So it is not known if whatever documents Penner signed off […]
Another burning question was the extent of Penner’s role in the passport scandal. Evidence suggests that he was right in the middle of it. Indeed, the PM was sufficiently convinced of his complicity to sack him immediately. But how thin is the line between wrong and criminal? The Prime Minister had previously suggested that Penner […]
Whatever the result of the criminal investigation, the PM is convinced that Penner, in the PM’s own words, was ‘damn’ wrong. So wrong in fact that he will never be allowed back into Cabinet to harm the U.D.P. So said the leader of the nation! But while the U.D.P. is shielded from Penner’s wrongness, the […]
And to nudge the people along to giving Elvin Penner that second chance, the U.D.P. has dispatched its general to the recall battleground in Cayo Northeast. Senior ministers Gaspar Vega, Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez and Michael Finnegan have all been sent to that western constituency to help persuade voters that a recall is not the answer. […]
To recall or not to recall – much was said today but the truth is that all the talk may be nothing more than rhetoric. That’s because Penner also has the option to walk – with or without a little financial incentive. Prime Minister Barrow says that he’s heard the rumours, and if that’s the […]
Rumours about Penner’s wandering are not the only ones the Prime Minister has heard. There is a much more serious report to consider – that of institutionalized hustling by ministers. For some time now the grapevine has been buzzing with news that select Ministers operate on a quota basis where visas are concerned. For example […]
Tonight there are very interesting developments to report in the passport scandal which shows absolutely no signs of going away. First, this morning a report went viral that a warrant was issued to search a house – but it wasn’t the home of the man who signed all those documents which are at the center […]
A press conference will be held on Thursday by the Ministry of Immigration. But it seems that Arthur Saldivar has single-handedly done what sustained public outcry could not. This morning, Minister Hulse, via phone, revealed on Krem TV that the Police were called in at four-thirty Tuesday evening. But while the Police are now allegedly […]
There seems to be very little official scrutiny on former Minister of State Elvin Penner. He is the man who signed the nationality certificate and recommended a passport for South Korean Kim Wonhong, a man who never set foot in Belize. It is Penner’s signature on the documents which somehow fooled what was to be […]
While the Minister Hulse has stated that his watertight system was defeated by the recommender, one of those recommenders is Elvin Penner. His signature is on record. But with all that, Penner still seems to be avoiding due scrutiny. With the Police now allegedly involved, whether they look in Penner’s direction is another question entirely. […]
The Police have been called in by the C.E.O. and the Director of Immigration. Minister Hulse has stated that there will be no holds barred. But there is some ambiguity as to the focus of the Police involvement. Will the police be looking at Elvin Penner? We likely won’t get an answer to that question […]
There are problems on top of problems revealing serious cracks and gaps in an Immigration dam which Minister Hulse claims is watertight. Attorney Arthur Saldivar says it’s much bigger than it appears. He claims that the hustle involves not only passports and nationality certificates, but also the illegal sale of visas. Today he promised to […]
At eleven-thirty this morning the nationality section in Belmopan closed its doors to the public. At a meeting, the staff was told only that because of an investigation they would not be opening for the immediate future. They were given no further details. The directive from up high comes eighteen days into the investigation of […]
So what does this development mean for the ongoing investigation? Minister Hulse told us that the two matters – the leaked documents and the passport scandal – are two different things and will be investigated separately. He insists that he is conducting an administrative investigation. But the cry for a criminal investigation has escalated into […]
The Minister accused us of asking rhetorical questions, but we were genuinely confused at that point. The question remains – can the D.P.P. and the Police institute a criminal investigation into the mess at the Immigration Department? Godwin Hulse, Minister of Immigration “Let’s not get this all confused because this is going back and […]
Arthur Saldivar is not disclosing how the more than a hundred and fifty documents found their way into his hands just before they were destroyed. But he says he will provide proof that they came from the Immigration Department on Wednesday. The press, this afternoon, cornered Saldivar on that point. Reporter “Why have you […]
Do you believe that the nationality department is also involved in the illegal issuance of nationality certificates? Yes or No. Send your comments and responses using your SMART phones to 8686 or post your vote on our e-poll at channel5belize.com. You can also send an email with your comments to questions@channel5belize.com.
Belize City Councilor Eric Chang is still missing in action. But his name continues to come up in the passport scandal which saw the fall from grace of Elvin Penner. It is believed that Chang was the go-between and courier who took the newly-minted Belizean passport to Taipei, where it was placed at the disposal […]
