PM Briceño Encourages Caribi Bleu Casino Investigation  

Prime Minister John Briceño has stated that if Caribi Bleu Casino is found guilty of any wrongdoing, they must be held accountable. The Central Bank has already confirmed that ATMs, especially those dispensing U.S. currency, should not be operated inside a casino. So, what penalties will Caribi Bleu Casino face for running an unauthorized ATM in its San Pedro facility? And there are even bigger questions: where did the U.S. currency loaded into the machine come from, and how did they manage to import and configure an ATM that dispenses U.S. dollars? The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is the supervisory authority for casinos in Belize, but they haven’t been forthcoming about the steps they’ve taken to address these issues. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

For the past eight weeks, News Five has been digging into the operations at Caribi Bleu Casino. Our investigation kicked off with reports that the casino had received dozens of golf cart permits earlier this year, adding to the already heavy traffic on Ambergris Caye. The San Pedro Town Council’s traffic department gave us access to their Traffic Master Log, where we discovered that only twenty golf carts are officially registered under Caribi Bleu Limited. What raised eyebrows was that during one of our initial visits to the island, we counted more than a dozen golf carts at the casino’s parking lot. On that same day, we obtained a video showing several golf carts hidden inside a neighboring building. However, when we visited the casino at the request of a Caribi Bleu representative, we were shown an empty building. The representative insisted that golf carts were never stored there.

 

But where there’s smoke, there’s often fire. Our investigation led News Five to uncover a video of a covert operation inside Caribi Bleu Casino. This operation revealed that the casino was running an unauthorized ATM that dispenses U.S. currency. When we caught up with Prime Minister John Briceno, we asked for his thoughts on the investigation.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Well I think that is more a matter, not for the ministry of finance, but either the FIU or the Central Bank. The FIU is an independent unit. So, we allow them to do their investigation. Also, with the Central Bank, if there is any fine to be paid or anyone needs to be charged for having an illegal atm and dispensing U.S. dollars. Well, I am confident that the Central Bank is going to charge these people or take them to court, and they should, I would encourage them to do so.”

On October twenty-seventh, Central Bank Governor Kareem Michael confirmed that it has launched an investigation into the casino’s operation, particularly where the ATM machine is concerned.

 

Kareem Michael, Governor, Central Bank (File: Nov 27^th 2024)

“I am sure you will appreciate that I can’t say much on that, because it is a live investigation.”

 

Paul Lopez

“How is it that a casino can operate a casino, undetected overtime?”

 

Kareem Michael, Governor, Central Bank

“I have a better question, how is it configured? So, again the techies in the room can tell me. So, the moment this thing started, obviously Belize small and I personally received messages from citizens in San Pedro that this was taking place.”

 

Governor Michael didn’t specify what penalties the casino might face under the Currency Exchange Act or the National Payment Systems Act. However, he did confirm that a cease-and-desist order would be issued to Caribi Bleu Casino. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister stated he would not be getting involved in the investigation.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I have not call them. I will not get involved. It is an investigation. Again, the Central Bank is independent from the government, as the F.I.U. All we can do is encourage them to do their investigation and if there are any person that should be found guilty of any wrongdoing, they should be charged to the fullest extent.”

 

Marion Ali

“But there needs to be a set a procedures to follow in order to get an atm inside of a casino facility that dispenses U.S. dollars. How could they have totally circumvented the procedure?”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“It is not a matter circumventing the procedure, it is a matter that they brought in an atm. And we need to find out first of all how they brought in an atm. I don’t think there is anything illegal to bring an atm into the country. We need to find out from customs if that was even registered or if they paid to have that atm in Belize. But, once you have an atm it is easy to program. You put in the money and then it spits it out. It does not have anything to do with the Ministry of Finance.”

 

Marion Ali

“So, they just did not go through the proper procedure?”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Exactly, and if that is so, then they need to be held accountable.”

 

In addition to the Central Bank’s investigation into the ATM, its setup, and the legality of its operation, the Financial Intelligence Unit (F.I.U) has its own work cut out. Part of the F.I.U’s job is to trace the source of the U.S. currency being loaded into the machine.

 

Kareem Michael (File: Nov 27^th 2024)

“Casinos and these nonfinancial entities, falls under another member of NAMLAC, namely the FIU.”

Paul Lopez

“Is it a common practice to have atms in Casinos in Belize under the National Payment Systems Act?”

 

Kareem Michael

“Absolutely not.”

 

News Five has been trying to get an interview with the Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit for the past three weeks, but our emails, phone calls, and messages have all gone unanswered. Adding to the mystery, there are questions about the name under which Caribi Bleu Casino is registered in Belize. According to the FIU’s website, there’s no casino listed under that name. We’ll keep pushing for answers from the F.I.U. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.