The Public Service Union (PSU) has formally requested records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), alleging that government finance officers have been deliberately splitting payments to avoid financial oversight by the Ministry of Finance and Treasury Department.
The request follows recent reports that the sister of Belmopan Area Representative and Minister of Home Affairs Oscar Mira received more than $1.7 million in government payments between 2020 and 2025. The union pointed to one instance on September 14, 2023, in which twelve separate invoices totalling more than $103,000 were reportedly approved for the same Jenny Armstrong.
“Breaking one legitimate payment into 12 artificially small ones would require creating 12 separate SmartStream invoices,” the PSU wrote, adding that it is highly unlikely each invoice truthfully disclosed that it was one part of a larger aggregated payment. If the comment fields on those invoices obscured the true nature of the transactions, the union argues, each one “constitutes a deliberate false entry in a government financial system”.
The PSU argues that such practices, if intentional, would undermine financial controls established under Circular No. 1 of 2022, which requires additional Treasury oversight and approvals for payments of $10,000 or more. Under the circular, payments above that threshold require three levels of approval, including two by the Treasury Department. Payments below $10,000 can be processed internally within ministries and departments.
The PSU notes that ministers do not personally process payments. It places responsibility squarely on the finance officers who entered and approved the invoices, while also pointing to heads of departments and chief executive officers who may have instructed them to structure payments that way.
“They are accomplices to corruption,” the letter states. “This is not a simple mistake; it is a deliberate and corrupt scheme to steal the public’s money without being caught.”
Through its FOIA request, the union is seeking the names of all ministries, departments, finance officers, heads of departments, and CEOs involved in the practice over a five-year period from April 2021 to March 2026, as well as the names of all vendors who received structured payments and full copies of the relevant SmartStream invoices, purchase orders, and approval records.
It is also calling on the Auditor General to conduct a comprehensive review of the same five-year period and publish a full public report of the findings. Where breaches are confirmed, the PSU is urging suspension or termination of those involved and referral to the Police Department and Director of Public Prosecutions for criminal investigation on charges that could include fraud and abuse of office.
The Accountant General, Auditor General, and Contractor General have 30 days to respond, with a deadline of July 10, 2026.
