Belize Business Law

Belize ‘Uncategorized’ Category

I have written a great deal about doing business in Belize.  I’ve even cover it a little bit about the tourist industry of police and the market for retirees looking to live in Belize as ex pats.

I like to pause and just share one of my own personal dreams about Belize.  I’d like to retire there someday myself.  Preferably someday when I’m still rather young in my early 50s, old enough to enjoy scuba diving and snorkeling around the reef and even more so studying archaeology and some of the ancient Mayan ruins.

My dream feels a long ways away right now as I work as a writer these days.  However I might be a little obtain that goal, I just need to keep working hard and I need to improve my ability to save a little extra money.

I’m reminded of this this evening as I received a great link to an article that shares 101 different ways to save a buck every week.  Now this can add up a lot more over time and there’s lots of ways to save even more than a dollar.  But in general I find tools like this is excellent reminders to help us break some of the bad habits that we pick up throughout the year.  It’s almost like a New Year’s resolution, but it includes a number of tips and insights that we don’t always remember ourselves or sometimes even know.  Unlike share the article with you in case it can help you save a little extra, and maybe we can meet up Sunday on the beach in Belize and share a drink.  Cheers!

New York City prosecutors have indicted and brought charges against a leading Brazilian political figure on corruption and money-laundering. Former Governor Pualo Maluf was indicted last week. He’s accused of stealing public money and moving that through several different corporations and trusts in offshore bank accounts.

He is also accused of having stolen more than $11.6 million apportioned out of the public account of a $140 million for a local highway project in Brazil. The money was stolen using inflated invoices and in kickbacks transferred through several shell accounts including accounts through the Parmalat group of Italy and Bank of America.

The money was held in a corporation registered in the Isle of Jersey in the English channel. The name of the corporation was Durant international Corp. is controlled through various trusts, corporations through various Caribbean tax havens. The US and Brazil are together investigating over $19 million in funds illegally exported through various different money-laundering efforts in the region.

The US does not have an extradition policy with Brazil and as such cannot seek to bring all of the loft to the United States. There’s no indication whether or not Brazil will attempt to investigate their legislator themselves for the stolen public funds. However the two governments are exchanging information. The United States is also working to try and return some of the stolen money from the Brazilian government back to Brazil. Maluf has hired a US attorney to defend him here.