Andrew Mitchell KC has been instructed since 2010 on the most significant corruption prosecution in Turks and Caicos Islands history, this following a Commission of Inquiry into what was termed systemic corruption in the governance of the Turks & Caicos Islands. The investigation was extensive and covered multiple corrupt land deals and transactions, where ministers gave island status to favoured individuals and they were paid bribes.

The first trial was aborted after the judge passed away, following Covid. The defendants had taken almost a year out of the case for a challenge all the way to the Privy Council, on the right of the judge to sit and hear evidence from Jamaica where Andrew was successful as claimant. They had also lost several earlier challenges which they took to the Privy Council on questions of the integrity of the judge, the appointment of the judge, and the constitutionality of the legislation providing for trial without a jury. The claimant won all the appeals.

After the judge passed away, the new Chief Justice declared that the right to trial within a reasonable time had been breached, she permitted a retrial on a restricted basis and severed the case into two parts.

Part one acquitting two and convicting the former Deputy Premier and an attorney of bribery and money laundering respectively. Their appeals against conviction were dismissed as was their attempt to have the matter heard by the Privy Council.

The second trial involving the former Premier, a minister and an attorney should have been the first trial, but for the third time the former Premier lost his counsel and so to enable his case to be prepared the Deputy Premier’s case was heard first. After the convictions the Chief Justice was challenged not to try the case of the Premier which she agreed, a year was taken up in appointing a new judge, a former Court of Appeal judge from Barbados (who had sat before that in Trinidad). Abuse of process was argued and rejected and the trial took place during 2025, with judgment reserved until verdict on 4 February 2026, when all defendants were convicted on all counts, sentenced on the 29 May 2026 to terms of imprisonment.

Confiscation is now fixed for the 13 July 2026. The significance of this case is the fact of investigating, prosecuting and convicting a former Premier, ministers and attorneys. This proves that no-one is above the law even in a small jurisdiction.

For further information please contact clerks@33chambers.co.uk