| PNP leader arrested by SIPT, not charged | | Print | |
| Written by Richard Green/richard@fptci.com | |||
| Thursday, 19 January 2012 12:16 | |||
 Progressive National Party Leader Clayton Greene says he was arrested Jan. 17 by the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team in an attempt to discourage his criticism of the interim government and the return of his party to power in the Turks and Caicos Islands. “I am innocent,” Greene said in a press conference Jan. 18 on Providenciales. “If I am charged, it’s going to court.” “I’m insulted by the suggestion that I may be engaged in corruption,” Greene said. “They’re wasting their money when they’re looking at me, but let them do their work.” Greene, an attorney for 19 years and former speaker of the House of Assembly, said he was questioned about $1 million that was deposited in his law firm’s trust account and distributed for his cousin, Quentin Hall. “When I deposited the funds into my account, its source was declared to the bank, and the bank did not question me further on it,” Greene said. “I also had no reason to doubt that the transaction was anything other than legitimate.” Greene said he was questioned under a caution, which means that whatever he said could be used against him. He said investigators told him that it was unlikely he would be charged, but he is not sure he can believe them. He is scheduled to meet with them again Feb. 7 when he will know for sure. Hall has been charged with receiving proceeds from an illegal land transaction along with his brother and former government minister Jeffrey Hall. Also charged in the same transaction are former ministers Lillian Boyce and Samuel Been, and Boyce’s brother, Earlson Robinson. Although SIPT did not name Greene as the person it had arrested Jan. 17, Greene said he decided — against legal and other advice — to publicly address his arrest. “I feel that if I am to continue to be true to my duty to always be truthful and open with the people of this country, then I have no choice but to cooperate,” Greene said. “In a corruption investigation, however prolonged and expensive and sometimes unfair and one-sided it might be, I do not have the luxury of hiding behind a right to silence because I am the one asking the people of this country to trust me and to have faith in my judgment and in my character, and this is something they cannot do if in the circumstances of a corruption investigation I am seen not to be cooperating.” Greene said he would continue to cooperate with SIPT, even though he accused the SIPT, the interim British government and the Civil Recovery Team of “perpetrating the greatest rape of Turks and Caicos Islanders that we have seen since the days of slavery.” “By now we should all be aware that the British are on a mission to tarnish the reputation of Turks and Caicos Islanders, and that cannot be right, and it certainly is not in the best interest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and we should continue to fight against it at all cost,” Greene said. The U.K. suspended elected government in this overseas territory in 2009 after allegations of widespread corruption among PNP government ministers surfaced in a Commission of Inquiry. Others charged so far include former minister Floyd Hall, his wife Lisa Hall, former Premier Michael Misick’s brother Chal Misick; attorney Melbourne Wilson; and British developer Richard Padgett. Among the allegations are that ministers received millions of dollars for fraudulently distributing government land and granting concessions to developers. Not charged so far are Michael Misick and former Minister McAllister Hanchell, who inquiry Commissioner Sir Robin Auld said should be investigated for a number of allegedly corrupt transactions. Click HERE to read Greene’s complete statement Photo: Clayton Greene
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