GOVERNMENT MP Nelson Bascome is believed to be involved in an investigation by police fraud squad officers.

Details of the probe remain sketchy but the has been informed that a police file containing the findings of an investigation involving the former Minister has been compiled.

It is not certain whether that file has been forwarded to the Department of Public Prosecutions or whether Crown prosecutors intend bringing a case to court.

Yesterday authorities were tight-lipped about any investigation, neither confirming nor denying the story.

When contacted by the , police spokesman Dwayne Caines declined to confirm whether Mr. Bascome had been the subject of an inquiry, what allegations the inquiry centred around or how long the investigation had taken, although this newspaper understands that police have been working on the case for many months.

"We are following due process and at the appropriate time, all the details will be revealed," Mr. Caines said.

He added that it was standard procedure in all investigations that no details are released to the media until a suspect appears in court.

The Department of Public Prosecutions also failed to comment on the case.

Mr. Bascome, 50, was appointed Health and Housing Minister by then-Premier Jennifer Smith following the PLP's election victory in 1998. But he lost the Housing portfolio in October 2002, six months after the revealed that corruption was rampant within the Bermuda Housing Corporation, a Government quango which Mr. Bascome was responsible for.

Following news of the scandal, officers from Scotland Yard were drafted in to carry out an investigation into the allegations of corruption. Subsequently, charges were brought against BHC officer Terrence Smith, who was jailed for eight years earlier this year after being convicted of several counts of fraud.

Mr. Bascome, who remained Minister of Health throughout the PLP's first term in office, was eventually dropped from the Cabinet by Premier Alex Scott following the party's second election victory in 2003.

Less than three months ago Mr. Bascome spoke openly about his stint as Minister, claiming that the police inquiry had failed to get to the core of the scandal.

"I don't think justice has been totally done," he told in a candid interview.

"I think the Minister who came in after me stated there were many more persons who needed to be exposed ? I haven't seen that exposure.

"There are some persons who have fallen through the cracks. They didn't have enough information gathered that warranted a court case. I think it was short."

In the same interview, Mr. Bascome denied that he should have been held responsible for the scandal, even though it took place on his watch.

"If I am the head of the Bank of Bermuda and my teller is stealing money, who gets the blame, the boss of the Bank of Bermuda? No," he said.