At about 4:20 this afternoon, investigators from the National Crimes Investigation Branch went to former BTL CEO Gaspar Aguilar's home in the King's Park Area and asked him to accompany them to the Queen Street Police Station for questioning.
He is being questioned in connection with $7.6 million of BTL money that Aguilar was ordered to change into U.S. dollars on the parallel market. BTL has not recovered the equivalent in U.S. dollars, nor has it gotten back the BZ$6.2 million that was paid out in mid-December to businessman Dion Zabaneh but BTL's Board of Management did not report it to police until August.
Tonight, Aguilar remains at the CIB Office in Belize City and he is being questioned. We stress that he has not been arrested but that he is being questioned at the police station indicates some seriousness on the part of investigators. It's the most high profile move since the investigation into $7.6 million of missing money from BTL.
Figures obtained by 7NEWS show that over four years of Prosser and Carlisle management at BTL between 2001 and 2005, BTL changed US$95 million on the black market. The transactions are unlawful but were not frowned upon by government's money regulators.
