News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. May 18, 2018: A Caribbean minister this week resigned from his post in the government’s cabinet but says he has no plans to resign as a Member of Parliament.
Asot Michael on Tuesday resigned as Minister of Investment and Trade in Antigua & Barbuda but according to the Antigua Observer, he vows to remain the parliamentary representative of the St. Peter constituency.
His resignation and insistence to stay on in Parliament comes after he was fingered in a bribery scandal with U.K. property tycoon Peter Virdee.
It also comes seven months after he was fired from his post as Energy Minister after he was arrested in the U.K. last October for questioning in connection with the same matter.
However, Michael has not been charged with any offence, but recordings of calls intercepted by German law enforcement reveal questionable practices, which have been flagged as possible bribery.
He now insists he will continue to serve his constituents and the nation and work with the Antigua Barbuda Labour Party. Mciahel was re-elected in March this year and given a new position in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Gaston Browne.
