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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JRI who wrote (71641)	12/10/1999 4:42:00 AM
From: rupert1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

JRI: I don't have a position in TYCO - just thought I would let you know that the British Press are emphasising the involvement on its Board of Directors of Michael Ashcroft. He has conglomerates of companies in Belize where he is a dominant figure: in the UK he is Treasurer of the Conservative Party even though he does not live here. He has been under sustained attack by some of the largest newspapers (e.g. The Times) who have raised lots of questions about the legality of his companies and his involvement in politics through the use of his money in Belize and in the UK Conservative Party (he donates several million pounds sterling a year). A few weesk ago he sued The Times for libel over allegations including some that his banks and other companies in Belize were invovled in money laundering and the drug trade but yesterday they settled their differences out of court with The Times agreeing to withdraw those last two charges but no others. It is hard to get a grip on what is going on. Certainly he is treated with grave suspicion and dislike in the media and in the Government - but a lot of that is about the appropriateness of a man with his reputation being involved in British politics. There have been lots of stories from Belize - all suggestive but none of them confirming any illegality or wrong-doing.