We’ve been reporting on the Sanctuary Belize situation for days now. That’s the real estate scam based in southern Belize which has defrauded scores of US investors. The Federal Trade Commission in the US shut it down - after it named that company and two dozen others in a civil complaint.
But the collateral damage and contamination n Belize is significant. We’ve already discussed the effect on Atlantic Internal Bank, but it goes even deeper. One of the related companies named in the complaint is a non profit NGO called Sittee River Wildlife Preserve. As we understand it this not for profit holds the 14,000 acres of land where the development was supposed to be based.
Documents coming to the for earlier this week show that the documents for Sittee were prepared by the Prime Minister’s law firm, Barrow and Williams in 2003, and PUP Senator Valerie Woods was listed as a director.
Today, Woods who is in the Ukraine told us via telephone that she resigned in 2016 from what she thought was a non functioning NGO:..
Hon. Valerie Woods - Resign as Director
"15 years ago I was approached by Ms. Joan Medhurst, if I would consider being a member of the Sittee River wildlife reserve. As you may recall, Ms. Medhurst was one of Belize's chief public relations person promoting as a tourist destination, I knew her from the time I worked at the BTB. I had no reason doubt any intention of what she was proposing. I had never been informed of any meeting, activity, decision, anything having to do with the NGO Sittee River wildlife reserve. In fact I never knew if it was even a functioning board or reserve. I heard nothing literally until February 2016 when the management of the reserve told me I'm listed on the registry of directors members, it came as a complete surprise and I immediately said to them I find that incredible, so I immediately sent in my resignation and that was from February 2016."
Jules Vasquez
"Were you aware that this enterprise was already the staging ground for very ruthless and elaborate real estate scam?"
Hon. Valerie Woods
"No, I had no knowledge of anything with this."
Jules Vasquez
"Is it something that concerns you, in so far as that your name is associated with one of the groups that are named in this civil complaint?"
Hon. Valerie Woods
"It is concerning to me if my name is still listed as a director because I knew I had resigned."
Jules Vasquez
"Had you ever met Mr. Andris Pukke and Mr. Pukke is referred to by the FCT as a recidivist scammer, that means he's a serial scammer. How alarmed are you to know that your name was fixed to a paper with someone who had a long track record of this sort of behaviour?"
Hon. Valerie Woods
"On a scale of 1 to 10, it would be pass 10 Jules, I don't take this lightly and so I am very disgruntled and I'm upset and I am alarmed. It really is disgusting to know that your name is even associated with something as sinister that has been displayed on the news when you had nothing to do with that."
And while Woods resigned in 2016, up until earlier this week - an attorney from Barrow and Williams was representing the Sittee River Wildlife Reserve in the Supreme Court.
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