And speaking to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources Cordel Hyde yesterday he also gave us an insight into the many land transactions initiated by Ricardo Borja at the Ministry ofNatural Resources.
That gave us a glimpse into a deeper problem in the real estate business. Jules Vasquez reports:
Ricardo Borja and Darren Taylor were killed 8 months apart - both targeted attacks - where nothing was stolen from them.
Both were land dealers and associates who worked together
according to the confession Borja recorded days before he was killed.
It is likely that both were killed for land deals gone bad.
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources
"It's scary, it's scary when you consider that persons have died on quite possibly linked to these things. You're dealing with a different level of, of opportunism and different level of criminality and a different level of, of wickedness altogether."
A different level indeed. Borja was an important go between for many big time realtors. According to reports, he would be retained to pay the stamp duties to finalize land transfers - but the transactions were never completed:
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources
"In the, in the case of the Borja case, we've reviewed over 300 transaction instruments that Borja and his consulting company, think it's JC consulting or something, that they actually presented to the Lands Department."
"80% percent, damn near 80% of those were incomplete."
Reporter:
"And when you say JC never did follow through with all of those cases was it because of Borja's death, or that was a pattern?"
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources
"Well, if you are looking at 300 transaction instruments and damn near 80% of them were not completed, then that seems to be an elaborate scheme, that's not accidental."
Not accidental but very damaging to those investors who paid their money for stamp duty up front to what they believed to be reputable real estate firms - only to find that those firms had retained Borja's JC Consulting.
That's what Stephen and Barbara Woycke did in 2022
when they transferred almost a million Belize dollars to a Boris Mannsfeld & Associates, a Placencia real estate firm. 54 thousand dollars of that was to pay the stamp duty.
But, after over a year of not getting their title - the real estate firm finally blame Borja:
And employee wrote in an e-mail, quote, The closing compfrny that you engaged for the title seorch and lodging the transfer of title was JC Consulting from Belize City. After inquiring about the status of your title at the Ministry of Natural Resources, Lands Department in Belmopan, BMA was informed that your stamp duty was not paid….BMA received the funds from you …in our escrow account.…(those funds) were remitted' to JC consulting for payment to the Ministry of Natural Resources (Lands Department ) at time of closing."
But, it seems Borja never paid - leaving the new landowners with an incomplete transfer and no land title. The Minister says this is all too common:
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources
"Lots of these people are out of money by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Can't get their property. They show up at the Lands Department believing that they've paid all the relative, the relevant fees and come for their land paper, only to find out that you know what, you have to start this process all over again. And all that money that you forked out never reached."
"And they're out of pocket, their retirement money, everything they had, and they can't pay the stamp duty so they can't get that land transferred in their name."
In the case of the Woycke's, they are suing the real estate agent saying that they didn't retain JC Consulting and claiming back the stamp duties plus damages.
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