Immigration Department silent on reports of missing monies and reversed receipts

Tonight, there are serious concerns within the Immigration Department over an estimated four hundred thousand dollars reportedly missing from the public purse. Love News first broke the story during our midday newscast, the Ministry of Immigration has since issued a statement confirming the embezzlement but with no specifics.  The release also indicated that they are also investigating two missing nationality certificates discovered at the department’s Belmopan office.  Reports reaching our newsroom indicate that an internal investigation is underway following the discovery of what appears to be a major financial discrepancy involving reversed payment receipts and unaccounted-for monies at the Belize City Immigration Office.  Love News understands that a preliminary assessment of account records revealed that more than eight hundred receipts were reportedly reversed in the department’s system, despite no actual refunds being issued to customers. Sources tell us the irregularities surfaced after a woman attempting to collect her permanent resident card, valued at fifteen hundred dollars, was informed that her receipt had been invalidated after it had allegedly been reversed in the system.  That discovery reportedly triggered a wider review of transactions dating back to February of 2025. Investigators reportedly believe that figure may be conservative, since the department’s lowest-cost service, a passport application, carries a fee of two hundred dollars.  Love News has further been informed that investigators have centered attention on one specific cashier assigned to the passport office, who allegedly obtained access to the two system passwords required to reverse official receipts. Sources say the matter raised serious concerns internally because the reversal process is specifically designed to require multiple levels of authorization and oversight.  Our newsroom also understands that the Central Information Technology Office, CITO, had warned the Ministry of Immigration late last year about the importance of supervisors safeguarding their system passwords and access credentials.  The Ministry of Immigration, Governance and Labour issued a statement acknowledging that it had “received reports of possible embezzlement of funds” at the Belize City Immigration Department office located on the Philip Goldson Highway. The ministry said preliminary internal reviews are now underway to determine the nature and extent of any wrongdoing.  The release added that if evidence confirms criminal acts were committed, the matter would be referred to the Belize Police Department and could result in a full financial audit.  However, the statement also shifted attention to a separate issue involving two missing nationality certificates at the Belmopan office, which officials say may have been misprinted, lost, or stolen.  This would not be the first time the Immigration Department has faced allegations involving missing monies. In a previous incident, a passport clerk was reportedly found falsifying receipts. That employee was later transferred to another government ministry, and no criminal charges were brought against him.  Our newsroom will keep following this story as it develops.//////