By Belize Live News Staff: It is one thing when money goes missing from a government office. It is another thing entirely when the missing money belonged to the unit responsible for investigating crime in Belize.
More than $20,000 in seized funds has gone missing from the Crime Investigation Branch of the Belize Police Department. The money was originally confiscated as part of a criminal investigation in 2023. It sat in CIB custody. And then it was gone.
The discovery was made during an internal audit earlier this year. The Officer Commanding the CIB has since been transferred, a consequence that signals the matter is being taken seriously internally, even as the public waits for harder accountability.
ASP Stacy Smith confirmed the Professional Standards Branch is reviewing the case and that statements are being recorded. But no charges have been announced.
This story does not stand alone.
At the same time, police are separately investigating allegations that over $160,000 is missing from the Immigration Department in Belize City. That case involves not just missing money but missing documents and missing nationality documents, raising concerns that go far beyond simple financial mismanagement.
In that investigation, arrangements are still being made to record formal statements. As of the latest update, nothing comprehensive has been formally recorded with investigators.
That means two institutions, the very bodies Belizeans depend on to uphold law and process, are under investigation for the disappearance of a combined sum exceeding $180,000. And the public has yet to see a single charge laid in either case.
The question being asked across Belize is a simple one.
If these investigations involved an ordinary citizen, would we still be waiting?
Accountability must apply to everyone. Belizeans deserve nothing less.
