In the wake of growing public scrutiny over hundreds of thousands of dollars in questionable state payments to enterprises connected to the family of Belizean Minister Oscar Mira, Prime Minister John Briceño has announced the launch of a fully independent review to investigate the controversial transactions.
During an exclusive interview with CTV3 News held in Orange Walk Town, Briceño outlined that his administration will formally ask the Financial Secretary to formally request the Auditor General carry out a comprehensive audit of the time period at the center of the controversy. The core objectives of this probe are to verify whether all required public procurement protocols were strictly followed throughout the process, and to confirm that the government received fair value for every dollar disbursed through these payments. Briceño emphasized that he will not pre-judge the outcome of the independent investigation, stressing that any future administrative or disciplinary action, including the potential suspension of Minister Mira, will be determined exclusively by the audit’s final findings.
The controversy gained new momentum after leaked internal records from government services provider Smart Stream, obtained by local outlet News Five, revealed that MP Farms — a company owned by Brian Mira, Oscar Mira’s younger brother — received 44 separate payments on September 25, 2025, adding up to a total of $389,796.85. Each individual payment was registered below the $10,000 threshold that triggers mandatory formal procurement oversight, a pattern that has sparked widespread allegations that official procurement safeguards were intentionally bypassed to avoid scrutiny.
This latest disclosure is not an isolated incident. It follows previous public concerns over separate state payments made to Jenny Mira, Oscar Mira’s sister, as well as unconfirmed reports of a major public contract awarded to another brother, Stanley Mira. Against this backdrop, Defence Minister Florencio Marin Jr. has clarified that routine payment processing falls under the remit of career finance officers and independent procurement professionals, rather than political appointees. Marin Jr. also confirmed that the Ministry of National Defence is currently holding active discussions with the Ministry of Finance to conduct a full review of existing procurement procedures, with the goal of closing any existing loopholes that could enable abuse.
For his part, Minister Mira has issued a categorical denial of any wrongdoing. He has repeatedly stated that he never intervened in the contract award process or attempted to influence any payment approval decisions, noting that all public tenders are openly advertised and award decisions are the sole responsibility of independent procurement committees, not sitting cabinet ministers.
Beyond the audit into the questionable payments, Prime Minister Briceño also announced plans to dissolve and reconstitute the full board of the Reconstruction and Development Corporation Limited (ReconDev), the state-owned development entity at the heart of the contracting allegations. The move comes amid persistent claims that members of the Mira family hold undue influence over decision-making within the organization.