BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – Belizean authorities have launched an investigation in relation to a number of documents which purport to be genuine birth certificates but are not and are being used in the efforts to gain genuine immigration status.
The Belize Police Department confirmed that it has been conducting investigations at the request of the Vital Statistics Unit (VSU), the Ministry of Immigration and the Social Security Board.
The authorities say none of these documents were issued or printed by the VSU and that “this was confirmed by our IT Department, which scrubbed the documents to determine whether they were generated from the VSU system”.
The police said persons are being interviewed, statements have been given, and charges are forthcoming.
“Further security measures have since been implemented at the VSU, Ministry of Immigration and Social Security Board. These measures cannot be disclosed for obvious reasons,” adding “the ongoing VSU Digitalization project will strengthen our systems and reduce the potential for incidents like these.
“The VSU, Ministry of Immigration and the Social Security Board assure the Belizean public that further measures have been taken to preserve the integrity of the systems in place.
“Belizeans are urged not to engage in the dealing or procuring of fraudulent documents as it is only a matter of time before these acts are uncovered and prosecuted,” the authorities said in the statement.
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