Tourism Minister, Susan Rodrigues, has found herself again denying that her expansive developing local and overseas assets portfolio has been funded by any corruption or illegal activities.

After issuing two statements last week on the construction of a massive house in a private scheme and an apartment complex in Providence, Rodrigues has issued a new statement about a multi-million dollar property she purchased in Florida.

In a series of videos, WIN Leader Azruddin Mohamed, questioned the Minister’s wealth generation and pointed to the many properties under her name and the name of her partner.

In a statement earlier today, the Minister confirmed that the property in Florida is owned by a company that she has shares in.  The property was originally purchased in her name, but that purchase was transferred to the company that was established. More than US$500,000 was reportedly spent on the purchase of the property.

Rodrigues claims that the property was purchased through a mortgage that she said was secured from a US Financial Institution, A&D Mortgage.

She provided a document which showed the annual tax and interest for 2024 as well as the date and value of the mortgage.  The Minister explained that the property is rented, and the mortgage is being serviced by the rental income.

Rodrigues said Mohamed has repeatedly and wrongly equated her assets to her public service salary.

She said such a comparison is unfair and disregards how a person leverages equity to access loans from the banking system.

In addition to her public service salary, she said she receives rental income from other properties and proceeds from family businesses.  

The Minister also sought to explain the source of funds for the acquisition of the two properties in a private development at Peter’s Hall. She said she received mortgages for both properties from local banks to finance those developments.

With regards to ownership of a gas station, she said the gas station is owned by the Shell Oil company. The Minister’s partner reportedly runs the station as a retail contractor.

The Opposition parties have been calling on the Minister to resign from office to allow a probe of the serious corruption allegations that have been leveled against her.

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