The former heads of government of two British overseas territories are facing serious criminal charges of gross dishonesty, but senior politicians and government ministers in independent Caribbean states who allegedly stole millions have not been charged or even investigated.
Former Turks and Caicos Islands Premier Michael Misick has been extradited from Brazil in handcuffs and sent home to face several charges for conspiracy to bribe involving millions of dollars. Meanwhile, his former colleague in the Cayman Islands, McKeeva Bush, is facing charges of theft and breach of trust.
Mr. Misick was granted bail in the sum of $10 million. He is charged along with 11 other politicians who served in the TCI cabinet and other high offices.
The charges were brought following a commission of inquiry set up by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which was headed by Sir Robin Auld, a distinguished English jurist.
Mr. Misick and the co-defendants will not be tried by a jury because the constitutional right to trial by a jury in the TCI was suspended in 2009 when Britain partially suspended the constitution and imposed direct rule in response to the allegations of widespread and systemic government corruption.
In response to criticism of a trial by a single judge, special prosecutor Helen Garlick said it would be very, very difficult to empanel an impartial jury given the volume of publicity generated by the 2008-2009 commission of inquiry into the alleged corruption.
Other places
Several years ago another former head of government of another overseas territory, Montserrat, was also charged, but he was acquitted by a jury despite the fact that the government retained one of the leading lawyers in the Caribbean, Karl Hudson Phillips, former attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago, to prosecute.
If TCI, the Cayman Islands and Montserrat were independent states, would their leaders have been prosecuted? There are reports of massive fraud and gross dishonesty by senior government ministers in Guyana, and there has been not even an investigation leading to prosecution.
There are also allegations of corruption by top government officials in the federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, and several years ago there were complaints about frauds by senior ministers in Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada. However, no proper investigation was carried out and no charges have been laid.
The conclusion seems to be obvious: The administrations of those independent countries do not want to prosecute or take drastic action against their own, despite glaring evidence of gross dishonesty.
{fcomment}