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By Al Edwards 

It was said that he was one of the most progressive and charismatic political leaders of the Caribbean, and now he, along with a family member, has been found guilty of a slew of corruption charges and awaits sentencing.

Yesterday, former Turks & Caicos Islands Premier Michael Misick, his brother, the attorney Thomas Chalmers Misick and former government minister McAllister Hanchell were found guilty of bribery, money laundering, conspiracy and defrauding the Crown and the Government of the TCI.

The verdict was delivered by Justice Rajendra Nadine in the Supreme Court.

Michael Misick presided over rapid real estate development during his tenures as Premier of the tiny island, and he declared that his country, in a short space of time, would rival The Bahamas, becoming the Monte Carlo of the Caribbean.

According to Prosecutor Andrew Mitchell, KC, the men in their capacity as senior government officials were involved in benefiting from illicit payments, totalling US$20 million. Misick and his accomplices were being investigated by both the British and American governments.  

Michael Misick’s bail was set at US$15 millio,n and he will not be spending time in jail before sentencing.  He once languished in a Brazilian jail in connection with investigations into kickbacks from Crown land deals. 

The Misick family has had a stranglehold on the political control of the island for decades.

The current Premier Charles Washington Misick said last month: “Exclusive activities are reserved entirely for Turks and Caicos Islanders. These are vital, entry-level and community-based sectors where full local ownership is both viable and essential to local income-generation and entrepreneurship. Reserved activities require a minimum of sixty per cent Islander ownership in more capital-intensive sectors. This approach preserves domestic control while allowing partnerships that provide access to capital, expertise, and scale where these are necessary for sustainability.”

The Misicks have always sought to balance governing the TCI with bringing in foreign investment with inducements.

The TCI is a territory of the UK in the West Indies.

Michael Misick was Chief Minister of TCI from August 2003 to August 2006 and Premier from 2006 to 2009.

He resigned as Premier in March 2009 after an official investigation “found evidence of systemic bureaucratic corruption and administrative incompetence”. 

That same year, the UK Government imposed direct rule on the TCI, with Michael Misick fleeing his homeland to avoid conviction. Richard Todd was appointed as Governor of the TCI.

In 2011, Michael Misick’s assets were frozen worldwide by Chief Justice His Lordship Gordon Ward.

Always the ladiesman, Michael Misick was married to African-American actress LisaRaye and dated Eddie Murphy’s former wife, Nicole Murphy.

While languishing in a Brazilian jail awaiting deportation, Michael Misick said the British Government would not give him a fair trial and was making things difficult for him because he is “black”.

As a government employee living on a small Caribbean island, he was a multi-millionaire in a relatively short space of time, with his net worth once placed at US$250 million.

He defiantly opposed British rule, once saying, “The British government does not want to see the remaining overseas territories independent because it helps them with their importance in the world.

“They want to control the Turks & Caicos Islands, but we want the same rights as an English person. But they wouldn’t give us a referendum. I believe the majority of islanders would like to be self-governing.

“The question of independence is not a question of money. It is a question of principle. The question is, do you want to be governed by an external power?”

Answering the question of how he managed to grow TCI’S annual GDP to 8 per cent and how he accounted for his political party’s overflowing treasury, Michael Misick responded: “There were no campaign finance laws. So, there were people who gave money. They gave contributions, and some were developers.” 

So why was he investigated? Is there merit to the charges laid before him? How does he explain his huge wealth?

“They said I was corrupt to discredit me. That tactic failed in Africa and India, and it will fail in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Not only is it a political witch-hunt, but it’s also a racial one.”