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As it relates to the contracts, invoices and payments Minister Oscar Mira is rejecting suggestions that he used his political influence to secure government contracts for members of his family. Questions have intensified in recent weeks following revelations of substantial government payments to his sister, Jenny Shubra Mira, and his brother, Brian Mira. The payments, revealed through leaked SmartStream records, have become the subject of intense public scrutiny and political criticism. Today, Mira sought to distance himself from the procurement process, insisting that he played no role in the awarding of contracts to any of his relatives.
Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs: “I don’t know if there is ongoing public criticism. Let me just make clear that I sit on no procurement committee. As the Minister of State and as a minister I have never been on any one of those procurement committees. Those are led by the Ministry of Finance. I had no say, I have no influence and I have never in my ministry or any other ministry tried to influence the decision no that committee. They have a job to do and they have done their job professionally. Tenders are published on the newspaper. Any interested person can apply and pay for that tender. They then go through a lengthy process. I had no say, I was not part of those committees. If they did so they did on their own not with my influence or with anything to do with me. Everybody who reads the newspaper who wants to be a supply to the ministry can go ahead and do that.”
Another issue raised during today’s media engagement centered on allegations of so-called “smurfing” – which is the practice of breaking large payments into smaller amounts that fall below reporting thresholds and therefore avoid additional layers of oversight. Leaked SmartStream records reviewed by the media show numerous payments made to members of the Mira family in amounts below ten thousand dollars, prompting questions about whether the transactions were deliberately structured to bypass approval requirements from the Ministry of Finance or Treasury. Asked about the matter, Minister Oscar Mira denied any involvement in how payments were processed, stressing that he had no responsibility for the administration of those transactions.
Reporter: Is it in your view not a conflict of interest ?
Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs: “I do not ask nor did I ask anyone who applied. There were many people who have applied. That is just one company that applied. I was not a part of it and so I don’t even know how many people applied. It is not me who makes decisions, it is a committee that sits together and makes that decision of who gets contracts.”
Reporter: Why were so many of the payments structured in a way to ensure that it’s below $10,000, did you find this suspicious ?
Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs: “I have nothing to do with how government pays their contractors or their suppliers. I have nothing as a minister to do with how the ministry of finance pays that isn to my decision. I don’t know and I don’t think it’s also the decision of any supplier to ask how to be paid. I really do not believe it is that way.”
Reporter: The optics look bad whether or- not you had a hand in it. Will you do anything to rectify it ?
Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs: “I think it’s a public perception that yes and I really don’t see the reason why those payments were made that way.”
Reporter: These structured payments in the financial world is called smurfing and it’s a form of money laundering, are you not concerned that your former ministry can be accused of money laundering ?
Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs: “Of course there’s a concern. I don’t think that anyone wouldn’t be concerned. But was anything illegally done ? I don’t know. I didn’t know they call it smurfing because I do not go there asking or being part of the finance office or whatever they do. That wasn’t my job. My job was policy, my job was making sure that the ministry was run in a very effective manner, that the units that fall under that ministry were being looked at apart from that I had no concern in the way that the finance officer or the financial transactions were being done. I had nothing to do with that.”
With the opposition calling for Mira’s resignation, reporters asked Mira whether, had he been sitting on the opposition benches, he would be demanding the resignation of a government minister facing similar scrutiny over contracts awarded to family members. Rather than answer directly, Mira dismissed the premise of the question altogether, saying he does not see himself ever being in opposition and would not engage in a “what if” discussion.
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For his part, Mira continues to reject allegations of wrongdoing and insists neither he nor his office played any role in securing contracts or directing payments to members of his family.
English (US) ·