[LINK] "Turks and Caicos: Caribbean Hangover"

[rfmcdonald]

Bloomberg Businessweek's Irin Carmon reports that the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British island protectorate in the Caribbean long favoured by Canadians as a future territory, is in a state of despair as the local government has been suspended following well-founded charges of massive corruption.

This British territory, largely undeveloped in the 20th century, became a playground for celebrities and the ultrarich as its reputation grew along with the easy money and loose credit of the boom years. In the last 10 years, dozens of new developments were started, almost all of them aimed at the most extravagant end of the luxury market. When the credit spigot was shut off, it didn't take long for things to screech to a halt.

The economic collapse was exacerbated by a charismatic and allegedly corrupt leader, Premier Michael Misick, whose actions helped drive Turks and Caicos into financial and political ruin, according to evidence presented by a Commission of Inquiry that was appointed by the local British governor at the recommendation of the British Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. Once, condos couldn't be built fast enough to meet demand; now the money has vanished, and locals wonder whether there are enough prison cells for the former government officials being investigated by the British special prosecutor.

Around the world, the popping of the credit bubble has resulted in relatively few arrests. In countries such as Greece, Ireland, and the U.S., taxpayers are footing most of the bill for what happened in that murky zone between greed and criminality. The British have determined that here it will be different: There will be a full accounting, there will be consequences, and then this island nation will start over. In 2009, as the global economic chill hit Turks and Caicos, which had enjoyed a peak annual gross domestic product of $800 million the year before—65 percent from construction, finance, and tourism—the British announced that they'd found evidence of deep-seated corruption throughout the state. After public hearings two years ago, they dissolved the ministerial government, suspended parts of the constitution, and postponed elections. Civil and criminal investigations are under way.

Things do not look good.

Go, read.