As premier of these palm-fringed Caribbean islands, Michael Misick was criticised for his “D-list Hollywood style of leadership”. The former elected leader of Turks & Caicos rode around in a chauffered gold Cadillac and married a Hollywood actress with her own lingerie line and a penchant for private jets. The actress, who soon divorced him, claimed that he handed out $100 notes during election campaigns.
Mr Misick has largely dropped out of public view since Britain imposed direct rule on the colony last month, disbanding its elected government after an inquiry found a “high probability of systemic corruption”. Rumours have been rife that the former premier, who is at the centre of the scandal, had fled the islands or was hiding in the basement of the local golf club. The Times, however, found him making mobile phone calls from the waterfront garden of his multi-million-dollar mansion in Providenciales, not far from his jet-ski dock and corkscrew sea slide. “Why would I not be here?” he asked. “This is my home.”
Mr Misick agreed to meet at a beachside bar for his first interview since the takeover on August 14. He accused the British of organising a coup. “The very thing they accuse countries like Burma or Venezuela of is the very thing that is happening in a British territory. We are in the same position as Honduras, where a legitimate elected government has been removed.
“I believe the suspension has less to do with the corruption and more to do with new Labour’s policy towards the [overseas] territories, particularly in relation to tax havens. I believe there is a more extensive plan to reel in the territories and get them to abandon their financial services, which is a major fabric of their economies.”
The islands, a 90-minute flight from Miami, have been transformed in recent years into a prime tourist destination. As money poured in, islanders took advantage of special rules relating to the sale of Crown land to cash in. The islands have a population of 36,000, but 11,750 are considered “Belongers” who have the right to vote and acquire Crown land at a discount.
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Sir Robin Auld’s commission of inquiry warned of “endemic corruption” and referred Mr Misick and four of his ministers for possible prosecution. “It appears in the main to have consisted of bribery by overseas developers or other interests of ministers and/or public officers so as to secure Crown land on favourable terms, coupled with government approval for its commercial development,” he wrote.
Mr Misick stepped down when the allegations were made public in March in an attempt to preserve the Progressive National Party (PNP) government, but Britain removed his successor, Galmo Williams, and seized control of all government functions.
Gordon Wetherell, the British governor, is in charge of steering the country back to democracy and elections are set for July 2011. He has appointed an advisory council of seven local worthies, including Mr Misick’s former sister-in-law and a woman who has a child with one of the accused ministers.
“I am not an old-fashioned colonial administrator,” Mr Wetherell said. “This is a targeted, temporary intervention in which I am being assisted by an advisory council and a consultative forum made up entirely of Belongers. That is far from the traditional model of a colonial administrator.”
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responsible for the 14 British overseas territories, appears to have sat on its hands amid increasing reports of corruption in the allocation of Crown land to Belongers who then “flipped” it to foreign developers. It was only a routine visit by the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee last year that exposed the alleged corruption and prompted Sir Robin’s commission.
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Mr Wetherell has brought in a veteran fraud investigator, Helen Garlick, to act as special prosecutor but Mr Misick and his fellow ministers have yet to be charged and the investigation could take more than a year. Some of those charged could stand for election while a trial is pending.
If the five are not convicted, many will ask if the suspension of the elected government was necessary. If they are convicted, some might view their prosecution as a “show trial” — particularly since Britain is considering suspending their right to a trial by jury. Mr Wetherell insists that possible criminality was not the only reason that the government was disbanded. “There is sufficient evidence in terms of legislative, administrative and systemic weaknesses to justify suspension of the Constitution,” he said.
So far, the takeover enjoys public support. Blythe Duncanson, editor and publisher of the Weekly News, said: “By and large, sensible people in the community totally welcome the intervention. The main concern is that the country does not become bogged down. People want to see this thing behind them as quickly as possible.”
Mr Misick, 43, a lawyer with a degree from the University of Buckingham, was one of the pioneers of property development in Providenciales. He ousted his brother to become head of the PNP and premier in 2003 but his extravagant lifestyle spurred resentment and questions about the source of his wealth.
“What we were doing here was creating the ‘Monte Carlo of the Caribbean’,” Mr Misick explained. “You need First World infrastructure, First World accommodations, celebrities, businessmen. You need to create that atmosphere to be competitive. That is a policy direction. Is that corrupt? No.
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“I am a simple island boy who grew up here, was born here and will always live here.”
The takeover risks stimulating demands for independence. One faction of the ousted government circulated an e-mail announcing the creation of the ominous-sounding “PNP Militia”.
Mr Misick dismisses the notion of violent resistance. Nevertheless, he appears to be casting himself as a potential independence leader. “One of my passions is to call for the freedom of the Turks & Caicos — to see an independent Turks & Caicos. No matter what happens, I am going to dedicate my life to pushing for it. That does not mean I am going to be running for office again.”
Sun, sea and stars
? Two sub-tropical island groups make up this British Overseas Territory. The Caicos Islands boast 95 per cent of the land area, while the Turks Islands are home to the capital, Cockburn Town
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? Providenciales is the largest settlement — with more than 70 per cent of the 36,000 population
? There are eight major islands and more than 20 smaller islands in the Lucayan Archipelago which, together, have an area of 238 square miles, mainly marshes, mangrove swamps and limestone flats surrounded by beaches
? Some 575 miles southeast of Miami, the islands were discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus. After rule by Spain, France, the Bahamas and Jamaica, Turks and Caicos became a separate British colony for the second time in 1959
? Tourism is the fastest-growing sector, with more than 250,000 visitors in 2008, mostly from the US and Canada. Michael Douglas, Keith Richards and Bruce Willis have homes there