A massive corruption trial that spanned a decade ended last week in Turks and Caicos with the convictions of the jurisdiction’s former premier, his brother, and a one-time governmental minister, the Miami Herald said. 

Justice Rajendra Narine concluded that ex-premier Michael Misick, his brother Thomas Chalmers “Chal” Misick, and McAllister “Piper” Hanchel accepted tens of millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for land grants and government concessions, the newspaper said. The bribes included multimillion-dollar loans, luxury property, and credit cards.

Narine found Michael Misick guilty on three bribery counts linked to Beaches Resort in Providenciales, Salt Cay, and West Caicos. Hanchell, who previously served as the British territory’s minister of lands and natural resources, was found guilty on two bribery counts tied to Salt Cay and West Caicos and Chal Misick was convicted of four counts of money laundering, according to the Herald. 

Michael Misick, a prominent political leader credited with helping turn the islands into a high-end destination during his 2003–09 tenure, has long denied wrongdoing and previously described the case as a “political witch-hunt,” the news outlet reported. 

Yet according to Narine, Misick “knowingly and intentionally received payments as an inducement” to act corruptly. The judge cited benefits including a $6 million loan, a $3 million villa in the Dominican Republic and an American Express Centurion card that accumulated more than $4 million in spending over three years, the Herald said. 

A central figure in the allegations was Mario Hoffman, a Slovak national who pursued a resort project on Salt Cay, the smallest inhabited island in the chain. Hoffman was granted 11.5 acres of Crown land and later obtained hundreds more acres, including a 99-year lease on 238 acres intended for a golf course, after Misick received more than $15 million from him in a series of payments made between January 2005 and April 2009, according to the report. 

Another Misick brother, Charles Washington Misick, is currently serving as the Turks and Caicos premier.

Read more at the Miami Herald