A Canadian Minister of government resigned last week in a cloud of scandal
– and the center of the scandal is tied directly into Belize. International
press reports say that Helena Guergis the former Canadian “Minister of
State, Status of Women” resigned after a private investigator dug up allegations
tying Guergis and her husband Rahim Jaffer to shadowy shell companies in Belize.
Reports say the couple was taken in by a Canadian fraudster named Nazim Gillani
– who boasted that three offshore companies in Belize had been "reserved"
to hold cash for the minister and her husband. The private investigator claims
that Gillani showed him a list of Belizean companies that Guergis had reserved
and boasted that Canadian government grants would somehow be obtained, which
would help "pump" the stock in those companies to a lucrative point.
Press reports point to the fact that Guergis visited Belize in an official
capacity in July 2008 and pictures on the government of Canada’s website
prove that. At the time she was Secretary of Trade for Foreign Affairs and International
Trade at the time.
Canada’s Honorary Consul in Belize Pat Andrews – the country manager
for Scotiabank - told us that he has no clear recollection of her coming to
Belize, but says she may have been a part of a visit with the Canadian High
Commissioner He says he certainly has no recollection of her seeking out business
interests in Belize. Whatever the case in Belize, in Canada it is a veritable
political volcano. Guergis has been brought up on ethics charges. She insists
that it is a case of rumors run amok.
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