The Cayman Islands continue to make headlines around the world and none of it is very good publicity.

An article appeared in the British national morning tabloid newspaper, ‘The Independent’ on Tuesday (1) announcing, “Scotland Yard’s bungled anti-corruption operation could now result in the publication of documents that could rock the tax haven” under the headline: “Cayman Islands: The Met’s Caribbean connection”.

The article mainly centres on the “Operation Tempura” scandal giving the background to, “the former head of the Cayman Islands’ police force is suing for wrongful dismissal after he was sacked four years ago during an inquiry into an alleged illegal break-in at a newspaper office. “

The article starts off like an advert for a mystery thriller, “with a backdrop of tales of corruption and murky collusion in the Caribbean, two former senior British police officers are set to confront each other in a courtroom battle that could shed new light on a Scotland Yard team’s controversial investigation in one of the world’s largest tax havens.”

Wow. What a read. I must go out and buy myself a copy. And it gets better:

“The search was part of a local leak inquiry over claims of improper links between police and press on the British overseas territory. But after Scotland Yard was called to the islands in 2007, the case spiralled into a multimillion-pound inquiry that reached the top ranks of the local judiciary.

The affair resulted in a clear-out of the top ranks of the islands’ police force, the wrongful arrest of a senior judge who was later awarded more than £1m damages, embarrassment for the Met and professional disgrace for a British lawyer called in to advise the investigation.”

Then we have references to assistant commissioner John Yates of Scotland Yard overseeing the investigation and later quitting over the UK phone hacking scandal, which brought the inquiry to a halt in 2009 “without any successful prosecutions and with the Scotland Yard team dispatched from the Caymans.”

John Grisham couldn’t write anything better could he?

The really interesting news is the following:

“But the controversy is set to be reignited with a legal battle that could feature documents that the Foreign Office has refused to make public because of fears it could damage the islands’ multi-billion-pound offshore finance industry.

“The sacked police chief, Stuart Kernohan, is due to appear at a mediation hearing in June in London to try to reach a deal over his claim against the Attorney-General of the islands, as well as the man who led the Scotland Yard probe, former Detective Chief Superintendent Martin Bridger.

“If the case is not resolved, it will go to the Grand Court of the Caymans where details of potentially embarrassing private meetings between senior police and British-appointed officials are likely to be aired. “This is typical of this whole case,” one of the lawyers closely involved in the case told The Independent. “Someone has made a complete and utter cock-up and unless people start disclosing documents we won’t find out who it was.”’

There is much, much more and I will give you the link at the end of my story if you want to read the whole ‘Independent’ article.

“Anybody who blows the whistle or creates trouble [in Cayman] is dead meat,” said Jack Blum, a Washington lawyer who works on offshore issues. “There are the cops and the people who try to do the right thing and then there are the people trying to protect the financial centres and business that comes through as a result.”

It is no wonder Cayman’s premier, McKeeva Bush, himself under three investigations by the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) has hit back alleging that “rumours” of police investigations were part of the “long history of the FCO in the Caribbean”.

“That’s a fundamental reason why they never give up the control of the police in any constitutional reform,” Mr. Bush said. “They control the police for everything they can get them to do. The Labour Party has had the worst record of this.”

Martin Polaine, a British barrister brought in to advise the Tempura team, and struck off by the Bar Council, in 2010, hit back with a complaint of his own to the Foreign Office, accusing senior members of the Caymans judiciary of seeking to frustrate the inquiry. Mr. Bridger, who is being sued by Stuart Kernohan, joined Polaine in the complaint, which also said there were “inappropriate actions” of senior Foreign Office officials.”

With the RCIPS Commissioner, David Baines, statement issued on Monday warning that the investigations into the Cayman Islands premier’ could be “protracted – particularly financial investigations when the allegations involve witnesses, and documentary evidence, located within other legal jurisdictions,” one can only say that the FCO involvement will probably be heavily played out to “muddy the waters”.

The Commissioner’s statement went on to say,” Whilst I appreciate that there will inevitably be a high level of interest in these investigations the continuing speculation is not helpful, nor fair to those under investigation, but I will ensure that a thorough investigation is completed with the resources available in as timely a manner as possible.

“As with every investigation undertaken by the RCIPS, when the investigation has been completed a file will be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions who will determine whether there is evidence of criminal conduct and any actions therefrom.

None of this will quell the  “considerable amount of public, political and press speculation about the time being taken to complete the investigations into the Premier of the Cayman Islands”.

For the Independent web article go to:

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/cayman-islands-the-mets-caribbean-connection-7697811.html