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Misick faces criminal probe
AP
Friday, July 03, 2009
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - British officials looking into corruption allegations in the Turks and Caicos Islands have called for a criminal investigation of Premier Michael Misick, authorities said yesterday.
The corruption-inquiry panel also found a need for "urgent and wide-ranging systemic change" in the British Caribbean territory located between Haiti and the Bahamas, the British Foreign Office said in a statement.
The territory's London-appointed governor created the panel last year in response to corruption complaints. The complaints targeted officials, including Misick who resigned in March, citing a lack of public support. Investigators suggested officials misused public money and profited from the sale of government-owned land.
Misick has denied any wrongdoing and blasted the British panel as "modern-day colonialism."
The public hearings earlier this year riveted the territory of 22,000 people by revealing Misick's lavish spending. His estranged wife, actress LisaRaye McCoy, described the use of private jets to commute from Los Angeles and other luxuries, including a leased Rolls-Royce.
Britain is moving to dissolve the territory's Cabinet and legislature on the recommendation of the lead investigator, Sir Robin Auld. Auld said earlier that the changes are necessary to address "clear signs of political amorality and immaturity and general administrative incompetence".
The statement said the inquiry recommended criminal probes relating to Misick and four unidentified former Cabinet ministers. It said the British government will work with the governor to implement the recommendations and restore good governance on the islands.
The panel's full final report has not been released because two foreign developers have brought proceedings in the Turks and Caicos against Auld and the territory's governor, Gordon Wetherell, according to Foreign Office spokeswoman Lucy Torrington. She said authorities may publish a redacted version.
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