Former Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush has been charged in a corruption investigation in a case which heaps embarrassment on one of Bermuda’s major international business rivals.The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service announced that the British Overseas Territory’s ousted former leader was charged with five counts of theft, four counts of breach of trust and two counts of misconduct in public office. He was released on bail and is due to appear in Cayman’s Grand Court next month.Mr Bush caused a stir in Bermuda late in 2011, when he made public his desire to lure the Island’s world-leading reinsurance industry to Cayman. In the process he attacked Bermuda’s immigration rules, racial divisions and fiscal problems as reasons for international business to move away.His attack came just months after a cordial meeting with the then Bermuda Premier Paula Cox at the Risk and Insurance Management Society’s annual conference in Vancouver, where the pair met at the Bermuda Reception.The corruption case will be closely followed by the many Bermuda companies that have operations in Cayman, including Butterfield Bank, KeyTech, Appleby and Conyers Dill & Pearman.Mr Bush’s splintered political party pledged to stand behind him as May elections approach.In December, governing party, opposition and independent lawmakers voted to oust Bush as the islands’ premier in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence a week after his arrest on suspicion of theft related to misuse of a government credit card and other allegations. He remained a lawmaker representing West Bay as well as leader of the United Democratic Party after most of his colleagues quit the party and formed a minority government.With parliamentary elections scheduled in less than two months, the United Democratic Party said it was “proud to have Mr Bush as its party leader.” He is the islands’ longest serving politician, having first been elected in 1984, and wielded great power within the territory.“I have done nothing illegal and will defend every one of these charges,” Bush said in a statement issued by the party.During a visit to neighbouring Jamaica in December, Bush called Britain-appointed Gov Duncan Taylor his “enemy” and said the police investigation was orchestrated by “jealous” political foes.Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, who was named as the islands’ premier a day after Bush’s ouster, could not be reached for comment. She has led a minority government since the UDP splintered during the debate over Bush.Last month, police said their investigations into Bush were “very active” and involved a number of foreign jurisdictions, including locations in the United States, Europe and Asia.The Cayman Islands is the world’s sixth largest financial centre and a major haven for mutual funds and private equity. It is a significant player in the captive insurance industry but its efforts to attract reinsurers from Bermuda have so far been unsuccessful.