A growing public corruption probe centered on millions in questionable government contract payments has put Belize’s top defense official in the hot seat, with Florencio Marin Jr., the country’s Minister of National Defence and Border Security, repeatedly declining to answer key questions about the ongoing investigation. Dubbed the ‘Mira Millions’ probe, the inquiry focuses on a series of contracts awarded during the tenure of former State Minister Oscar Mira, whose family members have been linked to several of the deals at the heart of the scandal.
When pressed repeatedly by reporters from News 5 for clarity on whether taxpayers actually received the goods, services and completed construction work the government already paid for under these contracts, Marin refused to confirm or deny the delivery of contracted work. Instead, the sitting minister has repeatedly deferred all comment to the Office of the Auditor General, which is currently conducting the official 90-day investigation into the irregular payments.
“I am prepared to speak, but please, let’s have the audit finished first,” Marin told reporters on the record. “Right now it is ongoing, and I believe it’s prudent that we reserve our comments to when that comes up.” This consistent line of deferral applied to every question posed by reporters, including inquiries into whether Marin or Mira had been notified of repeated large payments directed to the same small group of vendors, and whether the final audit report should be released fully to the public. All questions were pushed back to the independent auditor.
Marin also declined to take a position on a proposed policy change that would raise the $10,000 contracting threshold for public bidding requirements. This stance puts him at odds with fellow cabinet minister Andre Perez, who has publicly argued that raising the threshold makes practical sense from a business perspective.
The investigation was sparked after leaked internal Smart Stream procurement records obtained by News 5 revealed that more than $9.4 million in taxpayer-funded government payments are now under scrutiny. Multiple contracts tied to the probe have been connected to immediate family members of the former minister Oscar Mira. For his part, Mira has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, asserting that all tender processes were managed independently and that he never exerted influence over procurement decisions. In a public statement, Mira insisted he “had no say” in how the contracts were awarded.
As the Auditor General’s inquiry moves forward, the public remains waiting for answers on how millions in public funds were allocated, and whether any misappropriation or improper influence occurred in the contracting process.