AG Walker Clears VIGL In Campaign Funding Probe

ST. THOMAS — Attorney General Claude Earl Walker on Friday announced that VIGL Operations, LLC (VIGL) — a firm that recently forged a partnership with the Government of the Virgin Islands — did not make political contributions to candidates during the 2016 election cycle.

“We conducted a thorough investigation, which included speaking to a number of persons, including representatives of the regulated entity and its consultant, and we found no credible evidence of wrongdoing whatsoever,” Mr. Walker said.

In May 2017, allegations were made that VIGL gave thousands of dollars to candidates during the 2016 election cycle.

The allegation was that donations were purportedly received through a company affiliated with someone close to one of VIGL’s consultants.

VIGL is a casino license holder operating the casino at the Caravelle Hotel in Christiansted, St. Croix. Therefore, the law prohibits the company from making any political contributions. As VIGL is a regulated entity under the Virgin Islands Casino Control Act, the Department of Justice’s Division of Gaming Enforcement conducted an investigation into the allegations.

In revealing its findings, DGE has announced that its investigation did not uncover evidence of any check drawn from any account in the name of VIGL that was given to any candidate. Further, there was no evidence that any of the contributions that the candidates received were made at the direction of or on behalf of VIGL. Therefore, DOJ finds that there has been no violation of section 509(a) by the license holder.

Title 32, section 509(b) requires that the Virgin Islands Casino Control Commission issue a Code of Ethics for political officeholders.

The Virgin Islands Casino and Resort Control Act places DGE under the direction and supervision of the Attorney General. The law requires DGE to investigate the facts and circumstances concerning alleged violations of the Act, including allegations of any improper political contributions by the holder of a casino license. In carrying out this statutory directive, DGE has reviewed hundreds of pages of documents and interviewed several persons to determine whether any violation of the law occurred.