In a hotly disputed libel suit, the Conservative party deputy chairman is accused of providing loans of more than $5m to the disgraced former premier of the Turks and Caicos, Michael Misick, through the local bank that Ashcroft controls [he is the owner of the British Caribbean Bank, which is the largest lender on the islands and is managed by his son, Andrew]. According to his opponents, he "ought to have been aware that Mr Misick was corrupt". The billionaire Tory donor is also accused in the court pleadings of an "alarming" close relationship with William Hague, who could become the foreign secretary in control of the scandal-hit islands in the event of a Tory election victory.
The Independent alleges: "It was well-known that corruption among politicians in the Turks and Caicos Islands was endemic and it was inherently unlikely that Mr Misick could have achieved such apparent wealth and pursued such an ostentatious lifestyle while being premier, without having been corrupt. The conditions in the Turks and Caicos Islands provided obviously fertile ground for corruption." It adds that Ashcroft's "substantial business interests in the context of the islands' relatively small economies and immature political structures have given him a large amount of influence".
Full Guardian article here
