Turks and Caicos to lose independence thanks to PM’s Hollywood lifestyle

The British government is planning to retake political control of its dependency Turks and Caicos, after a corruption scandal unseated the Carribean islands’ prime minister (shown here with his estranged wife, the U.S. actress LisaRaye, who is also under investigation): Mr Misick, 43, a British-trained lawyer, has overseen the transformation of the islands since taking ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
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587517_090324_misick2.jpg
NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 25: Premier Michael E. Misick (L) and his wife Lisa Raye McCoy-Misick (R) attend The Elton John AIDS Foundation's sixth annual benefit "An Enduring Vision" at The Waldorf Astoria Hotel on September 25, 2007 in New York City. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

The British government is planning to retake political control of its dependency Turks and Caicos, after a corruption scandal unseated the Carribean islands' prime minister (shown here with his estranged wife, the U.S. actress LisaRaye, who is also under investigation):

The British government is planning to retake political control of its dependency Turks and Caicos, after a corruption scandal unseated the Carribean islands’ prime minister (shown here with his estranged wife, the U.S. actress LisaRaye, who is also under investigation):

Mr Misick, 43, a British-trained lawyer, has overseen the transformation of the islands since taking control in 2003. He is alleged to have built up a multi-million dollar fortune since he was elected in 2003.

The Premier and his fellow government ministers are alleged to have sold off Crown land to property developers for their own personal gain.

With two private jets on call and a series of luxury homes, Mr Misick claims that his lavish lifestyle has been necessary to court the high-end developers who have helped to transform this former colonial backwater. Celebrities with homes in the islands are understood to include Bruce Willis, Donna Karan, Michael Douglas, Keith Richards and Oprah Winfrey.

After resigning, Misick blasted Britain’s decision to suspend the islands’ constitution and transfer control to a London-appointed governor as “tantamount to being re-colonised.”

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Joshua Keating is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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