Two United Kingdom overseas territory leaders — Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush and former Turks and Caicos Islands Premier Michael Misick — were arrested in the past week on corruption related charges.
While the incidents were unrelated and stem from separate long-running investigations, at least one observer believes that the arrests suggest that the UK is trying to send a strong anti-corruption message to the leaders of its overseas territories.
Mr. Bush, 57, was arrested on Tuesday by officers of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service “on suspicion of theft in connection with financial irregularities relating to the alleged misuse of a government credit card, and breach of trust, abuse of office and conflict of interest charges,” the Cay Compass newspaper reported.
The charges were brought under the territory’s Anti-Corruption Law of 2008, according to the newspaper.
Mr. Bush also faces allegations that he imported “explosive substances without permits” before March of this year, the article added.
Mr. Misick, who served as the TCI’s premier from August 2006 until March 2009, was arrested Friday at the Santos Dumond airport in Rio de Janeriro by Brazilian Federal Police, according to a press release from the TCI Governor’s Office.
“The UK authorities are grateful to their Brazilian counterparts for their cooperation [and] are now seeking Misick’s extradition to the Turks and Caicos Islands,” the release stated.
See the Dec. 13, 2012 edition for full coverage.
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