MP Michael denies bribery suggestions in U.K. case

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Former energy minister in Antigua and Barbuda, MP Asot Michael denies seeking bribes as is suggested in secretly taped telephone calls of property tycoon, Peter Singh Virdee, who made reference to Michael begging for money/kickbacks for a deal in Antigua.
According to the Daily Mail in the U.K, Virdee has been accused of bribing high-ranking Caribbean politicians and secretly recorded phone calls regarding that matter emerged in a High Court judgment issued last week in that country.
MP Michael, who was fired from his post last October after he was detained in the U.K. in relation to a bribery probe by the National Crime Agency, says Virdee “can say anything” but he (Michael) “never asked him or anyone else for a bribe.”

  • He made the remarks while still saying he would “absolutely  not” comment.

After spending a day in custody after he was escorted from the U.K. airport for questioning on October 23, 2017, the then energy and tourism minister, Michael, was released without charge and the NCA said the investigation would continue and charges were not being ruled out.
Michael, who was re-elected to Parliament in March this year and who was appointed to Cabinet despite the continued probe, says he has “nothing to hide.”
Last year, when Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who leads the ruling Antigua Barbuda Labour Party administration, announced that the party continues to “embrace” Michael,  he also said charges would mean the end of Michael within the ABLP.
For several months now, there were no public statements/reports about the matter until a day ago.
This morning, OBSERVER media contacted Michael, the minister of Investment and Trade, after the U.K. media published the following story…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5722327/Tory-donor-embroiled-43m-fraud-allegations-accused-bribing-Caribbean-politicians.html
Court documents here : [pdf-embedder url=”https://antiguaobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Peter-Singh-Virdee-v-National-Crime-Agency.pdf” title=”Peter Singh Virdee v National Crime Agency”]

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