A week ago, we told you about those leaked documents out of the Lands Department which call into question the manner in which family members of former minister Gaspar Vega became the owners of land in the Spanish Creek area of the Belize District, and Ramsey Caye.
Now, Vega has been dogged by allegations that he was showing special treatment to his family, which allowed them to gain plentiful landholdings. He was forced to resign from the Cabinet when a land compensation scandal involving his son, Andre was exposed.
Well, these documents, which have landed on our news desk, suggest that there was an unusual pattern of acquisition which ended up benefitting Vega family members. For several days now, we've been inspecting the 118 files, and there is one specific set of transactions that caught our attention.
It involves island properties on Ramsey Caye, which is in the Belize District, south of Belize City. About 11 parcels of land, each about 1.5 acres each, started out as crown lands, but the names of very same individuals kept showing up as purchasers - and they kept doing the same thing. These persons bought the properties cheap, held them for a few months, and they sold them to the Vegas for a price small enough so as to not attract stamp duty.
Daniel Ortiz has been closely examining the documents, and here's his story:
Here it says that on March 19, 2014, The Ramon Rosendo Banos applied for a grant to 1.5 acres of Government land on Ramsey Caye.
The documents don't indicate it clearly, but digging through, we found out that it was block number 2 on the Caye, and its 1.5 acres of land.
Here it says that on July 4, 2014, almost 4 months later, Banos turned around and sold that piece of land on Ramsey Caye to Eduardo and Alma Vega for $20,000.
On this document, it says Fredi Orlando Cruz applied on June 17, 2014 to buy Block #3 on the same Ramsey Caye. He paid $3,000 for 1.5 acres of land.
On July 10, 2014, less than a month later, Cruz then sold the same piece of land on Ramsey Caye to Eduardo and Alma Vega for $20,000. According to the document, he made a $17,000 profit for flipping the land.
On October 8, 2014 Miriam Merida bought Block 4 on Ramsey Caye. She paid the Government $3,000 for 1.59 acres of land.
On April 22, 2015, about 6 months later, Merida sold this same piece of land to Eduardo and Alma Vega for $15,000. According to the documents she made a 9-thousand dollar profit.
On October 8, 2014, Ricardo Ronaldo Banos bought block #5 on Ramsey Caye from the Government of Belize. He paid $3,000 for 1.653 acres of land.
On April 21, 2015, about 6 months later, Ricardo Ronaldo Banos sold this piece of land to Eduardo and Alma Vega for $10,000. The documents say he made a $7,000 profit.
On October 8, 2014, Ramon Rosendo Banos bought Block #6 on Ramsey Caye. He paid $3,000 for 1.65 acres of land.
Then, on April 21, 2015, 6 months later, Ramon Banos sold the land to Eduardo and Alma Vega for $10,000, making 7,000 in profit.
This document says that on July 7, Ricardo Ronaldo Banos applied to the Government of Belize to lease Block 7 on Ramsey Caye
On October 19, 2015, Ricardo Ronaldo Banos then sold the island property to Carlos Eduardo Vega for $14,400.
Here in this document, you can see that Block 10 on Ramsey Caye is being leased to Roni Ronaldo Banos up until October 29, 2015, when he buys the land by paying off all balances.
On February 18, 2016, Roni Ronaldo Banos sold Block 10 to Eduardo and Alma Vega. They pay him $10,000 for the 1.4 acre parcel of land
This land tax statement says that Alyni Quintanilla was leasing Block 9 on Ramsey Caye.
The documents then say that she actually bought the 1.55 acres of land on October 13, 2015, for $4,000.
According to the documents, on that same day, she sold it to Ronnie Vega for $15,500, and supposedly making an 11,000 dollar profit.
The documents we've seen don't track the history of Ramsey Caye's Block 11, but on February 18, 2016, Ricardo Ronaldo Banos sold the land to Cindy Vega for $10,500.
And finally, from the leaked documents, it shows that Ramon Rosendo Banos was leasing Ramsey Caye's Block 12, up until October 29, 2015 when he bought it from the Government
That's until February 18, 2016, when Ramon Rosendo Banos, sold the 1.44 acre property to Eduardo and Alma Vega for $10,500.
All in all, the history of acquisition, purchase, and flip, shows a telling pattern of odd transactions.
The documents show a similar pattern for the land that the Vegas have in Spanish Creek. The same persons - with the very unusual names of "Roni Ronaldo," "Ramon Rosenio", and "Ricardo Ronaldo" Banos who held on the land on Ramsey Caye for a short period of time, are also the same names who bought the land from Government, before it ended up in the hands of the Vega family members.
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