An investigation by News Five has uncovered a trail of payments, millions of taxpayer dollars, flowing to a company tied to the family of a sitting minister. The findings come from dozens of screenshots pulled straight from the government’s Smart Stream system, revealing a pattern that spans nearly two years. After reviewing more than six hundred transactions, the data points to repeated payments to MP Farms, a business connected to Minister Oscar Mira’s brothers. Some days show dozens of invoices processed at once, with noticeable spikes in activity that are now drawing scrutiny. So how closely were these transactions reviewed? And were the proper checks in place as the money went out? Tonight, we dig into the numbers and the questions they raise. News Five’s Paul Lopez has the story.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Sixty-one screenshots pulled from the government’s Smart Stream system paint
a troubling picture, one that centers on payments to Minister Oscar Mira’s family-linked business, MP Farms. The company lists his brother, Stanley Mira, as the owner, while another brother, Brian Mira, appears as the contact. After combing through six hundred and twenty entries, the pattern becomes hard to ignore.
From September 2024 to June 2026, the Government of Belize paid MP Farms roughly $5.7 million for services rendered. The bulk of that money, about $5.6 million, came from the Ministry of Defense and Border Security. Another one hundred and thirty-nine thousand dollars across eleven invoices came from the Prime Minister’s Office, reportedly for grocery bags.
A closer look at the data highlights several spikes in spending. The biggest payouts came in May, September, and December of 2025:
- September 2025: 103 invoices totaling $901,899.83
- December 2025: 78 invoices totaling $704,808.44
- May 2025: 76 invoices totaling $691,225.99
Even more striking are the large volumes of payments processed in a single day.
- On September 25, 2025, the system recorded fifty-four invoices worth $482,751.45.
- On December 1, 2025, there were forty-nine invoices totaling $446,661.36.
- And on May 30, 2025, forty-six invoices added up to $418,836.84.
That raises a key question: did financial officers or CEOs actually review dozens of invoices in a single day, or were these payments simply approved in bulk?
Add those three days together, and the government paid MP Farms more than $1.4 million.
Some transactions stand out even more. One invoice dated December 3, 2024, shows a payment of one hundred and fifty-two thousand, eight hundred and thirty-four thousand dollars and twenty-eight cents. That exact amount appears again, paid to MP Farms through Smart Stream, on January 16, 2025.
The broader trend is just as revealing. Between September and December 2024, the government paid MP Farms four hundred and sixty-one thousand, nine hundred and sixty-eight dollars and sixty-one cents. That figure surged dramatically in 2025, reaching nearly four million dollars for the year. So far in 2026, payments have already climbed to around $1.3 million.
Breaking it down further, the third and fourth quarters of 2025 alone accounted for more than $1.7 million in payouts, the highest concentration over the period analyzed.
Then there’s how the payments were structured. Of the total invoices:
- 600 were under $10,000, staying below the threshold that would trigger additional scrutiny from the Ministry of Finance or require a formal tendering process
- 13 exceeded $10,000
- 7 were marked as cancelled
Taken together, the data doesn’t just show how much was paid, it raises serious questions about how these payments were approved, processed, and monitored.
Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez
PM Responds to MP Farms Payment Revelations
As new Smart Stream records surface showing nearly six million dollars paid to MP Farms over just two years, we asked Prime Minister John Briceño for his reaction. How does he respond to mounting concerns over these transactions, and what does it mean for public trust? Here’s how that exchange unfolded.
Paul Lopez
“How does it strike you when you see close to six million dollars to the company of the family of a sitting minister within the span of two years?”
On the Phone: Prime Minister John Briceño
“Of course, it is to question. But, let us not get carried away by the number. Let us look at ensuring that there was value for money. That to me is even more important than the appearance. But let us wait until we get the report.”
Paul Lopez
“Would you define this as nepotism?”
On the Phone: Prime Minister John Briceño
“Well, when he came to see me this morning, Minister Mira says he was not involved in anyway with any of these issues. And so, it is easy to cast aspersions, point fingers, but when he is telling me that he is not anyway involved then I think it is difficult to say that he was the one behind it, because he wanted his family to get these contracts.”
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