From Wikileaks

Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation: Police raid Bermuda Broadcasting

Link

http://www.cbc.bb/content/view/11151/45/

Country

Bermuda

Date

Tuesday June 05, 2007

Police officers armed with a search warrant raided the offices of the Bermuda Broadcasting Company on Monday night as part of an investigation into the leaking of top-secret files relating to allegations of corruption at the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC).

Premier Ewart Brown and Acting Commissioner of Police Rosendra Jones joined in condemning the leaks of police investigations into the BHC allegations.

Jones said a senior officer had been assigned to investigate the theft of files, and how extracts recently appeared on Bermuda Broadcasting television news and in last Friday's Mid-Ocean News, a weekly newspaper.

Monday night's swoop at the Bermuda Broadcasting offices and search of its computers was part of the ongoing investigation into the leak.

Police also visited the offices of Auditor General Larry Dennis on Friday.

VSB Radio said on Tuesday that Dennis "politely showed the officers the door".

Dennis is now in possession of police documents relating to the BHC scandal.

The government financial watchdog declined to tell the Mid-Ocean News whether he was now re-examining the case or if he would be making any recommendations in relation to the evidence obtained by detectives.

But he did confirm to the Mid-Ocean News that he had received copies of thousands of pages of case notes and documents that the police compiled during the 2002-2004 probe.

Speaking out later in a national television broadcast, Brown labelled the Mid-Ocean News stories defamatory, and said he had taken legal advice over serious allegations made about him.

The Premier made a controversial threat to cut ties with Governor Sir John Vereker over what he alleged was a failure to act in advance of the articles.

Brown stressed he had been exonerated by the police investigation of any unlawful behaviour, with no basis found for charges against any member of government over the allegations either.

Former BHC property officer Terrence Smith was jailed for eight years last year for swindling the organisation out of more than US$1.2 million. He has an appeal against his conviction pending.

No one else was ever charged with any criminal offence following the police investigation.

Brown said: "The publication of material purported to be extracted from confidential official files of a criminal investigation establishes blatant malice in intent, and raises profoundly serious questions about the means by which the newspaper came into possession of documents to which only a limited number officials had access."

He added that he has asked the Attorney General to request a Government House probe into the leak.

Opposition Leader Michael Dunkley, who condemned Brown for his words toward the Governor, said of the overall topic: "I am pleased that the Premier took to the airways to comment on the newspaper report about the investigation into corruption at the Bermuda Housing Corporation. I can understand his anger."

He said allegations as carried in the newspaper were "not good for the country's reputation", claiming they "call into question the practice of good governance in Bermuda and endanger our reputation as a first world jurisdiction."

Dunkley called for Brown to initiate "a full-blown independent investigation" covering what he termed "the entire Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal" along with the allegations in the Mid-Ocean News.