They all go something like this: These businesses and individuals would like to have more information regarding the stability of the Cayman Islands. They have concerns about reports involving criminal investigations and the uncertainty surrounding these cases, which causes them to vacillate as to whether they should invest money in the country.
This newspaper now finds itself in the same position it was in during 2008/2009 – addressing the ill-fated Operation Tempura investigation. Frankly, this is not a good feeling.
It seems that, two years after the current criminal investigation into Premier McKeeva Bush was launched, there is no further clarity regarding what will happen. In the meantime, Cayman’s potential business investors are left feeling a bit uneasy about what might occur here in the future.
Criminal investigations, particularly those that involve financial matters and individuals in elected office, will obviously take time if a competent and thorough review is to be conducted. However, in the current case, it took roughly a year-and-a-half before anything became public and even then the governor’s office and police refused to discuss the matter. We’re told His Excellency even wondered – in a country where defamation is a criminal offence – why the press refused to speculate about serious allegations surrounding the Premier. This silence on behalf of officialdom, we believe, is doing more to damage the reputation and future prospects of the Cayman Islands than any particular revelations about the activities of any one elected official could ever do. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. There’s no point in trying to speed up a criminal probe, but matters have certainly reached the stage where something needs to be said by those in charge.
The longer the clouds of uncertainty hang over this country, the more the public, the economy and the Cayman Islands’ reputation will suffer. The lessons of Operation Tempura were hard-learned and expensive.
We hope those in charge don’t make the same mistakes a second time.
Related Videos
Holy Moly! What happened here? I don’t know if you have a new editor or what it is, but I like the new attitude.
Well said…Caycompass !
But it is not only the outstanding corruption investigation in Premiere McKeeva Bush’s financial affairs and dealings on which there is deafening silence from Britain administrative authorities, the Governor and the Commssioner of Police.
There is also the spectre of rampant violent crime to consider and on which Britain’s officials in Cayman are saying nothing…and when the CoP does say anything at all, he is saying the entirely wrong things.
There is also the spectre of a major US Federal Govt. investigation on the serious charges of arms-smuggling ongoing, again on which the CoP has said nothing of value.
If Cayman citizens knew and understood how serious the USA views cross-border/international arms smuggling now, in light of the bloody drug wars taking place in the Mexican cities like Tihijuana that borders the USA, and spills over into California and Texas, they would understand how serious the implications of this investigation and indictments are for the reputation of the Cayman Islands.
To be quite honest, these new indictments have been predicted right here on this forum and its not rocket science to figure out who they name; to the cynical eye, it appears that Cayman’s authorities have not conducted thorough criminal investigations into ALL the concerned parties but now that their accomplicies in federal jail in the USA are providing hard evidence to the USA investigators, the question is glaringly outstanding, why have these people not been charged in the Cayman Islands ?
There is one thing that is obvious that the authority figures in Cayman seems to have failed to acknowledge and that is…
Convictions in federal court on these indictments is also a conviction for the Cayman Islands and could impact Cayman’s citizens continuing to travel freely and without hindrance, to the USA, as well as other dire consequences.
Obviously the majority of Cayman’s citizens are more concerned with protesting economic policies and projects, rather than protesting and questioning the real issues that are destroying the beautiful country that the Cayman Islands USED to be….
Or have been totally scared and intimidated into silence by those same authorities that they should be questioning loudly.
Great editorial and very timely.
The FCO are currently trying very hard to justify withholding the Martin Polaine/Martin Bridger complaint about alleged interference in Operation Tempura and the Governor’s response, which dismissed the allegations.
The FCO argument centres on the suggestion that by keeping the details secret they are somehow protecting the interests of the Cayman Islands. In fact they have gone as far as suggesting that their decision somehow has the full support of the Cayman Islands financial community.
Unfortunately, the fact is that a lot of the information contained in both documents is already public knowledge and the rest is subject to intense, and potentially very damaging, speculation.
As the editorial says, keeping things quiet only makes matters worse and it is long overdue for the various bodies involved to honour their committments to public transparency.