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That was the message that the General Manager came to our studio with this afternoon when he spoke to Jules Vasquez:

Leopold Romero, GM - TTCU
"Indeed there was there were fraudulent activities at the branch which the board of directors immediately implemented a complete audit of what was taking place and after that report we met with the police, we have provided statements and we are taking the necessary actions to recover from the credit union reserves are around 4.5 million dollars."

"What was in play right now is around 400,000 or a bit more because of other fines but all members who have been affected have been addressed, they have not lost any money and no member is losing any money at this point."

"The credit union has the reserves to take care of that."

Jules Vasquez
"Between January or early 2022 and the last quarter of 2024 there were serial abuses fraud, misappropriation, false loans sent through 28 members accounts at least at the Bella Vista Credit Union."

"When did you become aware of this systematic fraud being perpetrated at the highest level?"

Leopold Romero, GM - TTCU
"In the first instance, `employees and the branch manager was misusing their authority to access materials that under the credit union name and so we had to dismiss them. We visited members who were delinquent only to find out that the members were not aware of these loans, so the field officer from the head office uncovered that these were fraudulent loans."

"The board immediately put in place the forensic audit, a special audit that run into all of these accounts and contacted the members. The members who lost monies from their accounts, directly from their shares or their deposits, were compensated."

"And we have no member at this point saying that they did not recover the money that was taken out of their account."

Jules Vasquez
"How many people were fired from the Bella Vista branch in total?"

Leopold Romero, GM - TTCU
"In the beginning, we had five. After investigations and the audit, we had to release another 3. So that was 8. And then lately we release another 3. So we have about 10 people being released, nine people being released from the branch. and replaced with new employees."

Jules Vasquez
"So basically you had to fire everybody."

Leopold Romero, GM - TTCU
"We had to because all of them were colluding."

Jules Vasquez
"What did you feel when you started to see what you what is being reported from this branch, what was your reaction?"

Leopold Romero, GM - TTCU
"Jules, if I say that on camera you won't put it out. I felt disappointed very disappointed with our very close friends who we trusted, it sent shocking waves and an awakening that you can't trust nobody in the financial system. If you are giving out a loan at least you should go through at least five people; compliance, internal audit, management, member and the loans officer."

Jules Vasquez
"Except in this case all those five people were colluding except for the member. So in some cases even the member was colluding."

Leopold Romero, GM - TTCU
"In some cases that happened as well. This is a lesson that we take seriously and we address the matter by placing stronger internal controls and taking over the operations of the branch from the head office."

And while Romero says they have enough reserves to cover the losses and still remain financially viable, we asked him if it means that members will not get either a dividend or a rebate this year - as they have for the past 24 years since the credit unions founding?. Here's that exchange:

Leopold Romero, GM - TTCU
"If we miss dividend this year, it doesn't mean that the Credit Union has failed. It's just a sacrifice to overcome and continue to keep our reserves to the best they should be. The demand is 10%. We are at 15% and moving to 20%."

Jules Vasquez
"The requirement of your reserve to assets ratio is 10%. You all are at?"

Leopold Romero, GM - TTCU
"We are at 12.15 right now. Even though we went through this payment of these things, our reserves are still there."

Jules Vasquez
"But to keep it that way, it would be wise to withhold from a dividend and a rebate this year if you were giving the advice."

Leopold Romero, GM - TTCU
"And that is the exact advice I presented to the board and that is what we should follow, because we entered this scheme. We found out this scheme and we need to recover. So it is from a wise position that we retain our reserves so that we can move forward."

"By next year, we should be able to do that again. I mean, for the last 24 years, we have paid a dividend and a rebate. And so if we don't this time, then it is a wise decision to make."

We'll continue with our coverage of the story tomorrow.

Toledo Teachers Credit Union is the smallest credit union in the country of Belize, and the only credit union in Toledo District.