The business associate of former Premier Craig Cannonier who travelled on a Government trip to meet US developer Nathan Landow had been employed by the American tycoon, an OBA source revealed last night.

The source at the series of weekend meetings said that Mr Cannonier confirmed that he had been aware of the fact, but added “he had put a stop to it” before the March trip.

Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell and Attorney General Mark Pettingill were also on the business trip. Yesterday both said they were “shocked” when Mr Cannonier told a crisis meeting over the affair last Saturday that his business associate Stephen DaCosta had been in a “commercial relationship” with Mr Landow.

“If I had known Mr DaCosta had a relationship with Mr Landow, had we been told he had a commercial relationship prior to going on the trip, I would not have gone,” said Mr Crockwell.

“We don’t know how long he was employed and that there was a contractual relationship with Mr Landow prior to the Washington trip we did not know about. How long that went on afterwards, I don’t know.”

The two spoke out only days after Mr Cannonier stood down as Premier amid mounting controversy over the affair dubbed Jetgate.

Mr Crockwell said: “We’ve heard what came out during the meetings — I suspect that Mr DaCosta was going to be the man on the ground representing the developer. I don’t know the actual terms of it. I just found out he was involved at that level during the weekend.

“We were shocked — I raised the fact, I told Mr Cannonier at the meeting, had I known, I would not have gone. The problem was lack of disclosure and lack of transparency.”

Mr Pettingill added: “It was the first time I had heard. The former Premier accepted that he had to resign in the circumstances. The facts are the facts and we appreciate the fact that he disclosed this.”

And he said of his and Mr Crockwell’s position: “I would ask people to objectively look at what has occurred. They won’t have an issue.”

Mr DaCosta did not return calls from The Royal Gazette last night.

The two Ministers also said they were not aware that Mr Landow, who sent his private jet to transport the Bermuda group to the US, and other US businessmen had donated more than $300,000 to a fund set up to help pay for the OBA’s 2012 election campaign, or that Mr Cannonier had met Mr Landow prior to the Washington meeting last March.

The cash did not go to the OBA, but to a group called the Bermuda Political Action Club.

But both Ministers insisted they had done nothing wrong in attending the meeting with Mr Landow and his business associates to discuss investments in Bermuda and that the trip did not breach the code of conduct for Government officials.

Mr Pettingill and Mr Crockwell, both lawyers, said they were satisfied accepting a flight on Mr Landow’s private jet to take them to the meeting was within the rules.

Mr Pettingill said: “I stand on this — I took independent advice, I asked the question. I did this not officially but through someone connected with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.”

He added the trip had also been rubber-stamped by the then-Cabinet Secretary, Donald Scott.

And Mr Pettingill said there was “no risk of an undue obligation” for the trip and, as business deals would be handled through requests for proposals (RFPs) or by an independent gaming commission, Ministers could not be accused of being influenced.

Mr Crockwell said: “We were clear there was no negotiation and no breach. My hands are clean, I’m confident the Attorney General’s hands are clean and whatever I witnessed on that trip with relation to Mr Landow was professional and above board.

“Mr DaCosta’s only contribution in the meeting was talking about golf, which he did quite well. He knew the lay of the land about the St George’s golf course. That was the only contribution he made. He wasn’t there for the whole meeting, but he did talk about the golf course.”

He said the Landow side wanted to discuss specific issues like hotels, the work permit process and the legal aspects of how to set up business in Bermuda.

Mr Crockwell added: “The key is ‘in negotiations’ — these were not negotiations. We spent hours entertaining questions about concessions and what Government was prepared to do from that perspective, to immigration questions to the RFP process. We made it clear to them there was an RFP process and that they would have to apply like everyone else.

“The fact of the matter for us, the AG and myself, this was a meet and greet.

“At the time, we didn’t know that there was a relationship between Mr DaCosta and the developer and that the Premier had met him before.”

Mr Pettingill said that neither Minister was even aware that Mr DaCosta would be on the private jet flight until they arrived at the airport.

But Mr Crockwell said that after they returned home he e-mailed a Landow associate and lawyer who was at the March meeting to tell him he wanted to raise concerns with him.

Mr Crockwell explained that he was concerned at the presence of Mr DaCosta, a non-Government figure, at the meeting.

He added: “We had no idea what the relationship was then. The conversation would have been very different had we known that.”

The Landow associate later spoke to Mr Crockwell by phone and said he shared his concerns. Mr Landow later signalled by letter he had decided against a development in Bermuda, but later expressed interest again and was sent the RFP for the former Club Med site in St George’s.

But Mr Crockwell said: “Had we known Mr Landow had made a campaign contribution, I would have been concerned.

“People who give to campaigns, you then have to be very prudent when you deal with them to prevent any expectation.”