Last night we showed you Ministry of Finance documents leaked to 7NEWS which show that one June second, government has to pay BZ$37 million to Solomon Smith Barney, money due as a bullet payment for a bond that has matured. But tonight, information to 7NEWS suggests that's only part of the story - that BZ$37 million is actually BZ$60 million due on June 2nd.
What's the reason for the change? Well according to our information, that 37 is a figure based on the expectation that there was still $20 million in a partially raided bond sinking fund at the Belize Bank in Turks and Caicos. We say "partially raided" because that sinking fund, which would have paid off the entire bond, had to be raided of BZ$40 million in November to pay off some of the debt at the International Bank of Miami when Jeff Prosser failed to pay off his BTL debt and government had to step into the breach. Then, the other BZ$20 million was also cleaned out to finance other government operations. So with the sinking fund squandered where will GOB turn. Well best indications are, it is going to use the fast dwindling infusion of new money from the Bears Sterns offering to come up with the US$30 million for June 2nd. That means that of the US$93 million from the Bear Stearns offering, 30 has gone to the Capital Markets Group in Miami, 30 more is going to the Solomon Smith Barney Group in June, leaving only $33 million, hardly enough to meet the US$79 million in debt servicing obligations that remain for the rest of the year. And that US$79 million does not include what the IMF warns are additional needs based on DFC's stalled liquidation, BTL legal fees, and Social Security debts relating to the Godfrey companies default.
