BELMOPAN, Belize—La Immaculada Credit Union held its much-anticipated annual meeting here following demands from membership that the meeting be held and that questions be answered. More than 1,000 members signed a petition calling for the meeting.
LoveFM reported that the annual meeting got off to a difficult start when a member of the board started to read the same statement read and already broadcasted on the media earlier in the week by the CU’s president, Ena Martinez. Media who were on hand were allowed to attend but not to record the meting in any way.
Another member of the board, Anna McLaughlin, read a statement and provided a few more details that the ongoing investigation has revealed, including that the former general manager, Yolanda Gomez, is allegedly responsible for a list of wrongdoings, including criminal offenses.
At the end of the statement, Love FM reported that Martinez declared that while the session was include a financial report she would say that for the past fiscal year the credit union saw a net profit of $3.34 million Belize dollars or a 15% gain compared to last year. LoveFM reported that when questions from members were heard, the session was “highly controlled” and the microphone was at times turned off.
The board said it would not comment beyond saying that local courts were investigating matters at the CU. The meeting was suspended when the former GM, Gomez, stood and attempted to address the meeting.