Former Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush formerly charged

Former Cayman Islands Premier., McKeeva Bush. PHOTO/File

Former Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush has been formally charged with two counts of misconduct after he was arrested late last year.

Bush, 57, who will appear in court next month, is also facing 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.

Bush will appear in Grand Court on April 12. The charges were laid yesterday as the former premier answered his bail.

Earlier this year, police had extended the bail to late March after indicating that the investigation into the former head of government “is still very active and police are following several positive lines of enquiry”.

They said the “re-bailing of the suspects is to allow further investigations to take place in a number of foreign jurisdictions, including locations in Europe, the United States and in Asia”, but the ruling United Democratic Party (UDP) accused the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service of “abuse of official power” as it relates to the former premier.

“The UDP is of the opinion that, over the last 24 months, there has been an orchestrated witch hunt against the former premier in an effort to damage his reputation and remove him as the democratically elected premier together with the Government which he led.”

Bush, who came to power in 2009, has maintained his innocence. The police said, last year, that Bush had also been detained in connection with the alleged importation of explosive substances without valid permits on or before February 2012. – (CMC)