Finnegan Raises the Alarm

[Airdate: February 22nd 2008]

But no catchy comeback could save Mr. Musa from what awaited him in the courts.  For months it had been rumored that he and Ralph Fonseca would be charged for misappropriating public funds – specifically ten million US dollars that had been gifted to the people of Belize for housing but was diverted to settle the Universal Debt at the Belize Bank. Housing Minister Michael Finnegan raised the alarm in February, two weeks after the UDP took office:

 

Hon. Michael Finnegan, Minister of Housing
"The people of Venezuela and the government of Venezuela, they have given to the people and the government of Belize, it wasn't US$10 million, it was twenty million U.S. dollars, according to this document. And the people are asking for an accounting of their monies. This letter was sent to the Ministry the eight of February, the day after the election to Miss Amalia Mai, asking her to kindly account for the gift of the US$20 million that was given to this country. And the government reminded them, the Venezuelan government reminded Miss Mai that US$19 million was given for housing projects and home improvement loans and US$1 million was given for the stadium that is being built at the Marion Jones Complex.

If my mathematics is correct, that is 20 million U.S. dollars and the government all along the line were saying that they received ten million U.S. dollars from the government of Venezuela. And the Venezuelans are now saying they received US$20 million. So the government is $20 million Belize short."

Jules Vasquez,
So where is that money?

Hon. Michael Finnegan,
"I want to know and I think the former Prime Minister of the last administration who was the Minister of Finance has some accounting to do to the Venezuelan government and to the people of Belize."

The Arrests

And when that accounting came, it was not satisfactory to the government  - so the word went out from Belmopan that Musa and Fonseca would be charged.  But weeks and then months passed and nothing happened, and so, the rumor got so stale, that most thought it had turned into one of those things you hear about but just never see. That is until December, when Musa and Fonseca were charged but not for misappropriation, but for theft, the theft of 10 million US dollars.

[Airdate November 4, 2008]

Jules Vasquez Reporting,
Before 9:00, about 50 supporters including attorneys, family members, and loyalists gathered outside Belmopan Police Headquarters. At 9:00 a busload of supporters from the Fort George Area arrived with signs and flags and took their place in front of the station. The shirts said "I support Said 100%" - but there weren't more than 100 of them. Still, they were sufficiently loud. And at 12 minutes after 9:00, Musa arrived at the Police Station to applause from his supporters.

He stayed in their being processed, or served with a charge sheet. That lasted for 40 minutes at and 10 to ten a line of 5 police officers came out, and a minute later Musa emerged to cheers from the crowd – hand held up defiantly.

He was escorted over to the court without handcuffs in a large procession locked in by 25 uniformed police officers – including three Assistant Commissioners of Police. Head of National CIB Assistant Commissioner James Magdaleno was on his left and on his right, Sergeant Ricardo Cho from Special Branch. The crowd of supporters followed behind vocal, but struggled to reach a total of 50.

Musa was led to the courthouse where oddly he was led into the wrong courtroom at first and after a short while he was taken upstairs – where he gave another gratuitous wave to the crowd.

The crowd waited outside and inside, the DPP arrived sharply at 10:00, facing a team of 7 Musa attorneys. Court was called to order at 10:03, and Musa went into the dock; it took exactly three minutes for him to be read a single charge of theft of US$10 million – the property of the government of Belize. No plea was taken as it is indictable and he was released on bail of $100,000 plus a surety of the same amount. After arranging the bail, he spoke to the press.

Rt. Hon. Said Musa, Charged for Theft
"Now this is political persecution, brought by a petty, vindictive Government. I am innocent of these charges, indeed of any charges that they threaten to bring against me. I acted in good faith always when I secured the grants from Venezuela for the benefit of the Belizean people. What we have here happening is this government, this regime, is trying to harass me, trying to shame me but in fact they are shaming themselves because they are dragging our country Belize down to the level of a failed state where a rogue totalitarian regime is perverting the justice system, controlling the justice system and using it and instructing people to use it to persecute and to jail their political opponents. As I said I am innocent of this, I am not worried about it. They know that they will not succeed with this ridiculous charge against me."

And from there the former Prime Minister was taken into the crowd and unto the shoulders of Papi Poti and swept away as if on a tide. After a few well wishings, he left in his law partner Edwin Flowers' Land Cruiser. One of his attorneys Anthony Sylvester spoke to the media.

Anthony Sylvester, Attorney for Said Musa
"He has not benefited from it nor has he ever been in possession of it. So you for yourself can make a determination as to whether the charge based on what the legal definition of theft is a serious one and we've been saying from the outset and in particular Mr. Musa has said that the charges basically trumped up and they are based on political persecution."

Patrick Jones, Love FM
"You describe these as trumped up charge but I am yet to hear why you say it is a trumped up charge other than Mr. Musa saying it is political victimization. US$10 million was given to this nation and it ended up where it ought not to have gone."

Anthony Sylvester,
"I explained just a while ago what is the legal definition of theft. Theft is that you take property and either for the benefit of yourself or another with the intention of permanent deprive and in our opinion the facts as have been borne out in the public domain does not accord with that legal definition of theft."

Patrick Jones,
"But weren't the Belizean people deprived of that $10 million that went to pay a private debt when it was for a public purpose, that that money was given to Venezuela?"

Anthony Sylvester,
"All of those issues will be ventilated at trial."

Lisa Shoman, Attorney for Said Musa
"It is for the state to prove their case against Mr. Musa and so the issue of disclosure is going to be very important. It is the DPP's duty and responsibility to make out the case and according to the case that is made out, the disclosure that is obtained, the proofs and the evidence that they present, that is how the defense will unfold. It would be really premature at this stage for us to lay out any strategy for you. Not because there is any evasion or there is any sliding of the issue but simply because until you know what it is the state is alleging, no one can give you an answer.

The facts do not to us bear out the charge and that is an important element because in this rule of law in Belize, every single person is innocent until the state proves you guilty."

Jules Vasquez,
Explain the charge of theft. We know it as theft from an individual, you stole something and I had it. You had possession of it. Mr. Musa never had possession of this, he took something from an individual. How do you construe the charge of theft?

Cheryl-Lynn Branker-Taitt, Director of Public Prosecutions
"I think there is misunderstanding of the crime of theft. The laymen would think that is exactly as you explained, you are going to snatch something from someone and you have it in your possession. But the offense of theft actually looks at the assumption of it rights, it looks at a person treating another person's property as though it is his own and this is what we are saying occurred in this case, that that money belonged to the people of Belize and that person acted as though the money belonged to them."

Jules Vasquez,
Mr. Musa is saying this is trumped up, implying that the DPP's office is working at the whim, at the dictates of a totalitarian executive. Are you pursuing this independently? How can we be assured of your independence and that it is not a political prosecution?

Cheryl-Lynn Branker-Taitt,
"The DPP does not take instructions from the government and we didn't take instructions from anyone in relation to this matter. Information was provided to us, documents were sent to us, we looked at them and it was a long process. I took over as Acting DPP over six months ago and the charges have only just been brought because it required work to analyze everything to ensure that there was a case to be brought and the decision was made by me without any input from anyone else."

Jules Vasquez,
We've seen that the DPP's office cannot prosecute the Prime Minister's former press secretary, not the DPP's office the police in that case, cannot even prosecute his former press secretary for a stick of weed; he was acquitted of that yesterday. How can we prosecute the Prime Minster for theft of $20 million?

Cheryl-Lynn Branker-Taitt,
"We have the evidence and we'll be taking the evidence to court and it will be for a jury to decide whether or not he is guilty or not guilty."

Jules Vasquez,
Is there enough evidence to support this? We've seen political prosecutions before failed disastrously?

Cheryl-Lynn Branker-Taitt,
"Do you think that I would have brought a case if I did not feel that there was sustain it?"

Jules Vasquez,
It depends on if your motive is purely legal.

Cheryl-Lynn Branker-Taitt,
"So then obviously my answer to that is yes."

Jules Vasquez,
Are you intimidated when you enter the courtroom and see six, seven attorneys for Mr. Musa, a Senior Counsel as well?

Cheryl-Lynn Branker-Taitt,
"I would not have been intimidated if the entire Bar was on the other side."

The DPP is confident, and the former Prime Minister appeared confident – but if this case ends up as the DPP plans before a jury – this crowd won't be enough, Musa will need political cover from a mass party – and it was clear he didn't have it today.

Former Housing Minister Ralph Fonseca was charged the following day.  And while both cases are adjourned until January – the DPP's office has to hope it progresses better than other high profile prosecutions.  The most notable was Joe Coye, who was charged for theft and obtaining property by deception for allegedly swindling a businessman in a land transaction. He was charged on April 25th. but by July 24 those charges had been thrown out.

And in almost arrests of note: warrants were separately issued for the arrest of the Chairman of Telemedia's Executive Committee Dean Boyce and President of the Belize Bank Phil Johnson.  Boyce was wanted for the non payment of Telemedia's business tax and Phil Johnson for failure to comply with a directive of the Belize Bank: that directive was to return the ten million US dollars in Venezuelan grant funds that Musa and Fonseca had diverted for settlement of the Universal debt.  Both warrants were withdrawn when payment of the tax was forthcoming in the first case and the 10 million U.S. was refunded in the second.