Former Cayman Islands premier faces 11 criminal charges

mckeeva_bush7Cayman Islands : On Wednesday afternoon, police in the Cayman Islands charged former premier McKeeva Bush with 11 counts of breach of trust, misconduct and theft.

Bush, who was originally arrested on December 11, 2012, on suspicion of theft and corruption, was questioned further on Tuesday and, on Wednesday, returned to the Financial Crime Unit, where he was charged with two counts of misconduct in a public office, four counts of breach of trust by a member of the Legislative Assembly contrary to Section 13 of the Anti-Corruption Law 2008, and five counts of theft contrary to section 241 of the Penal Code 2007 Revision.

He was bailed to appear in court on 12 April.

One week after his initial arrest, Bush was ousted from office when Cayman Islands lawmakers passed a vote of no confidence in him.

Local businessman Suresh Prasad, whose name surfaced in earlier years in connection with Bush and a number of controversial transactions, and who was also arrested along with Bush, was re-bailed to report back to police in early April.

Bush is the second premier of a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean to face accusations of theft and corruption in recent years. In 2009, then premier Michael Misick of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) was also ousted after a Commission of Inquiry found evidence of systemic government corruption in the territory.

Misick later went on the run but was arrested pursuant to an Interpol Red Notice, also in December 2012, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His extradition is currently being sought by authorities in Britain and the TCI.