This is Ecumenical Drive in Dangriga town. We searched up and down, but could not find the office for Express construction. And no one in the area had heard of it. It has no registered Trade License in the town.

We got the company address from a quotation in a government contract - but it seems no one in government cared to check if the office exists, or if it s a registered company. They just routed contract funds through the ToledoTeachers Credit Union in Bella Vista - which dutifully processed it.

We did try to call Express Construction at the number provided on the government contract

She hung up on me - I hope it wasn't because of my badly broken Spanish - but Express is part of a trio of companies linked to PUP Toledo East political insider Jose Felipe Flores: Savana, Express and Allan's Construction - and Aleyda Flores is his wife.

The General Manager of the credit union explains why those accounts raised a flag.

Leopoldo Romero, General Manager, Toledo Teachers Credit Union
"These things came in the wrong way and from the wrong company. How will I put money from Savana's construction into Allan's construction that is not even registered? Express construction owned by the wife with false address, I have mentioned that before. And so looking at that situation we had to close the accounts and then stop doing business with them."

But, the government didn't stop - contracts and sources of funds provided under a FOIA request by the Ministry of Finance show Savana Construction receiving contract disbursements at least up to July - like this one for a Community Rehabilitation Center in Otoxha on July eighth - again for less than 50 thousand dollars - because a contract for more than that has to be sent to the Contractor General.

Those funds were placed into account of Allan's Construction. This activity led to the cancellation of the accounts in August:

Leopoldo Romero, General Manager, Toledo Teachers Credit Union
"Savannah construction was Registered but on hold because they did not pay their annual fees and Savannah construction was owned by two people, the pastor and former chairman of Bella vista village and this fellow who claims to own all the companies. And so when the contracts came under Savannah construction and we are placing the money in Allan's construction that is totally wrong. and so I did not print and I did not put those contracts in there because I would not collude with such transactions."

And while it was all too sketchy for the Credit Union, the man who signed the contracts Osmond Martinez says that what really matters is that the work was done - and he provided us these pictures of the Community Center in Otoxha - which he says ended up costing 65,000 dollars, even though the contract was only for 48,000 dollars.

Same for the community center in Crique Carco for which Savana got the contract for 41,000 dollars and Martinez says it ended up costing 55,000 dollars.

Osmond Martinez, Minister of State - Economic Transformation
"My friend, who are the beneficiaries, the people, you know, when you look at Crique Carco and Otoxha they have a community center that was almost about to collapse in their head."