Auditor General Larry Dennis will this summer carry out an investigation into former faith-based tourism boss Andre Curtis' controversial financial relationship with the Department of Tourism.

The performance audit comes after months of unanswered questions regarding Mr. Curtis' handling of hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars to run the scheme in 2007-08.

Mr. Curtis runs Premier and Tourism Minister Ewart Brown's Progressive Labour Party constituency in Warwick South Central. Both deny the initiative has been used as a method of getting cash to Mr. Curtis as a thank you gesture.

Mr. Dennis told The Royal Gazette in an e-mail: "This summer the office of the Auditor General will be undertaking performance audits in several areas.

"Contracts/agreements, services contracted for and payments made thereunder will be one of these areas.

"Mr. Curtis' financial arrangement with the Department of Tourism is expected to form part of this audit."

Under Mr. Curtis' $400,000 contract, he was supposed to organise ten get-togethers throughout the year, bringing 2,200 tourists to the Island.

The Department of Tourism and Dr. Brown have repeatedly refused to respond when asked if these targets were met.

Opposition MP Wayne Furbert, one of Mr. Curtis' most vocal critics among the church community, believes no more than 100 tourists attended in total.

At one stage, Mr. Curtis claimed he had lured 1,500 tourists during 2007-08, but numerous people called this newspaper to say that figure was wildly inaccurate.

Mr. Curtis' responses regarding the number of events he set up have been inconsistent.

He claimed to have helped organise a Women of Vision event at Fairmont Southampton in February, even though the real organisers wrote to him beforehand telling him they did not want his support and instructing him to remove all references to them from his website.

He has also claimed to have organised an event called Weekend Fit For A King last September, although no records exist for it and nobody, including Mr. Curtis, has publicly provided any details about it before or after it is supposed to have taken place.

In recent days, two preachers have complained they have been left out of pocket by Mr. Curtis.

Bishop John Francis from the UK said he was still owed thousands of pounds after bringing his act to the National Stadium last October, while Jamal Bryant said he was never paid for his performance at St. Paul AME Church the following month.

When criticism of Mr. Curtis began to gather pace last summer, Mr. Dennis revealed he would be carrying out an audit in due course.

At the time, he said he would be looking to see if the disbursement of public funds was supported by an agreement or contract, the terms of the agreement or contract are met, and proof that the grant had been used for the purpose for which it was given.