[LINK] "How corruption in paradise ensnared Canadians' dream deal"

[rfmcdonald]

At the Globe and Mail, Greg Arthur describes how corruption in the Turks and Caicos, a Caribbean island territory just south of the Bahamas often mooted as a future Canadian territory, has sucked Canadians into ongoing criminal inquiries.

A condominium and resort project headed by Toronto developer David Wex and celebrity realtor Brad Lamb has found itself – through no fault of the developers – ensnared in a judicial inquiry into systemic corruption among the islands' public-office holders.

A recent report by British judge Sir Robin Auld found that the Turks and Caicos government, led by former premier Michael Misick's Progressive National Party, routinely accepted bribes from overseas developers and that Mr. Misick and his ministers exploited the government's Crown land policies “for their own corrupt reward.” The United Kingdom, which has sovereignty over the islands as one of its 14 overseas territories, has suspended the country's Constitution, appointed special prosecutors to pursue criminal charges and thrown Mr. Misick – who is crying “modern colonialism” to anyone who will listen – out of office.

Stuck in the middle of this probe into multiple questionable land deals, as well as into Mr. Misick's illicit use of a private jet, sits Blue – a yet-to-be built resort that Mr. Wex, Mr. Lamb and a group of Irish investors first conceived of in 2005.

There is nothing in Sir Robin's report that suggests the Canadian developers approached the government to help them acquire the resort site. Nevertheless, the inquiry found that their purchase of the land produced a $5.5-million windfall for the same government ministers who approved the development.

“I'll tell you, I had no idea about this,” Mr. Wex said of the behind-the-scenes kickbacks that ensued from his project. “How do you think we feel? We look like idiots.”