King probes the revelation of personal memo

St Lucia (CMC)

The St Lucia government has launched an investigation to determine how a confidential memo written to Prime Minister Stephenson King, by his Attorney General Rudolph Francis, has been published in Italy where a political scandal is brewing involving the brother-in-law of the chairman of the Italian parliament.

Francis confirmed that he had written Prime Minister King on the on-going investigations into two St. Lucia registered off-shore companies that the Italian press claim are owned by Giancarlo Tullianio.

"The government of St Lucia was reliably informed that St Lucia has been featured in a number of Italian newspapers as a result of some off-shore companies with their offices registered in St Lucia.

"As a result, the prime minister requested that I basically investigate the matter to determine if in fact there were any negative implications and consequences for St Lucia," Francis said, adding that "my preliminary investigations revealed certain facts and suspicions. Consequently, I wrote a confidential memo to the prime minister informing him of my preliminary findings.

"In the meantime, I have launched a formal investigation into the matter. As to how a confidential memo to the prime minister got in the hands of the Italian press is a mystery, said Francis.