AN investigation into Government corruption in the Turks and Caicos Islands is being hampered by unco-operative MPs, according to officials.

A Commission of Inquiry was set up in July to investigate "possible corruption or other serious dishonesty" following an inspection of all Overseas Territories – including Bermuda – by the UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this year.

According to a Commission statement, it has spent more than a month requesting politicians to provide it with details of their personal business interests.

"In the main, that information has yet to be provided," the statement said.

The UK Foreign Affairs Committee also recommended a commission of inquiry be convened in Bermuda to investigate the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal and related matters.

At the centre of the corruption claims in TCI, whose capital is Grand Turk, is Premier Michael Misick, who is alleged to have built up a multi-million-dollar fortune since he was elected to power in 2003.

Dr. Misick – a close personal friend of Bermuda Premier Ewart Brown, who is understood to have property and business interests on the islands – is also under investigation by US authorities over allegations of rape. An American citizen claims she was sexually assaulted by the politician following a poolside party at his home in March.

Dr. Misick has repeatedly claimed that the FAC inspection team had a skewed view of his administration. He has also strenuously denied allegations that he is a sex predator.

And he has been backed up in refuting that allegation by a second woman, who claims she and the alleged victim willingly took part in a threesome with the Premier on the night of the alleged attack.

According to a Caribbean Net News report, the defence witness, referred to as 'Vanessa' in the article, began an affair with Dr. Misick in Paris in February.

The report also quotes Vanessa as saying that she and the victim – 'Cynthia' – attended a party at the Misick mansion while the Premier's wife was away on business.

"Vanessa states that the Premier threw a party at which 'everyone was having a good time drinking and singing and going into the pool', and that at some point, just she and the Premier's accuser – Cynthia – ended up in the pool together," the article reads.

"Vanessa states that after a little girl talk, Cynthia suggested they get naked. Vanessa states that Cynthia then 'surprised' her with a kiss on the lips. And that they then proceeded to engage in lesbian sex acts that 'went on for a long time'.

"Vanessa states that at some point the Premier arrived and saw them in flagrante delicto. Further, that she invited him to join in the fun and that he took off his clothes and jumped right in. At this point, she claims that their ménage à trois involved her having 'sexual contact even while Cynthia was having sexual intercourse with the Premier'.

"Vanessa states, more to the point, that 'at no time during their sexual encounter did she hear any complaints from Cynthia'.

"Vanessa then states that after a while, they all agreed to continue inside the guesthouse, but soon they all fell asleep.

"Vanessa states that she heard the Premier get up and leave the next morning. And that when Cynthia finally got up Vanessa 'asked how she was feeling and started to talk about all the sex with her and the Premier'.

"Vanessa states that she was 'very hurt' when Cynthia became 'uptight and agitated', especially when Cynthia insisted that she didn't remember anything about that and she has a boyfriend and . . . 'she doesn't do that . . .'."

The report's author, Anthony Hall, who is also a lawyer, concluded that it is unlikely the case will ever get to court.

Informing his readers that he he had "omitted the more pornographic parts of her (Vanessa's) statement in the interest of public decency, Mr. Hall added: "Of course, acquaintance rape (or date rape) is notoriously difficult to prosecute – as the prosecutor in the William Kennedy Smith case can readily attest. But this is because such 'she said, he said' cases rarely have eyewitness testimony that can corroborate either the allegation of the accuser or the denial of the accused.

"In this case, I can't imagine any prosecutor filing charges, let alone winning a conviction, against the Premier given Vanessa's statement. Moreover, it renders waiting for FBI forensic evidence a complete waste of time since any finding would be entirely consistent with consensual sex."

Dr. Brown has previously declined to comment on any of the allegations that his friend is facing.

But activists have claimed that Bermuda should set a Commission of Inquiry similar to the TCI model in the wake of the FAC inspection.

Voters' Rights Association co-chairman Stuart Hayward said he backed the TCI inquiry and noted that the FAC had raised similar concerns about the governance of Bermuda under the Brown administration.

"Bermuda should welcome a similarly robust and wide-ranging inquiry, if only to dispel ongoing rumours about mis-management, dishonesty, corruption and cover-ups in the handling and accounting for the public's money and election affairs," Mr. Hayward, told The Royal Gazette in July.

"Given our Auditor General's ongoing concerns and the obvious attempts to weaken his office, the UK government must step in as things in Bermuda do appear to be going wrong."