Businessman Andre Curtis faces jail or a massive fine if found guilty of the offence he is suspected to have committed in Bermuda.

The Royal Gazette has obtained copies of printouts showing how Mr. Curtis' Harvest Investment Holdings claimed on its website to be licensed to conduct investment business.

In fact, the firm does not have a licence.

Conducting investment business without a licence is an offence under the Investment Business Act 2003, carrying fines of up to $250,000 and a maximum five years in prison.

Two overseas firms that invested with Harvest Investment Holdings while it was falsely claiming to be licensed, have filed joint writs against Mr. Curtis.

A local investigation by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) and the Bermuda Police Service has been launched into Mr. Curtis' affairs. And there is a separate probe by Montana State Auditor's Office into his alleged involvement in a worldwide Ponzi fraud in which investors are said to have been duped into handing over millions of dollars.

Mr. Curtis is the campaign manager for Premier Ewart Brown's Progressive Labour Party Warwick South Central constituency.

Yesterday, BMA sources confirmed they launched their probe in mid-December after reading media coverage of the Montana situation, which highlighted false claims on Harvest's website.

They say it is not unusual for overseas firms to attempt to gain credibility by wrongly making out to be licensed in Bermuda – but it is less typical for a local company to employ such a tactic.

"It's quite extraordinary, to be honest, that somebody on the Island would present themselves in this way. It's been blatant," one source said to this newspaper.

Giving details on their investigation for the first time, BMA sources told The Royal Gazette they wrote to Mr. Curtis advising him they were putting a notice about Harvest Investment Holdings on their warning list. Mr. Curtis took down the website of his own accord, almost immediately.

Shortly before Christmas, warrants were served on Mr. Curtis' home and his business premises, carried out by Police with a BMA officer present. Mr. Curtis was arrested the same day and spent a night in custody. He is on bail and must report back to Hamilton Police Station once a month.

Bermuda Police have also been in direct contact with Montana investigators regarding their probe.

Among the claims on Harvest Investment Holdings' now-defunct website believed to be false were:

l "This company was purpose-created to facilitate the services set out herein and is fully licensed to provide these services in accordance with the laws of the Islands of Bermuda."

l Services include: "Investment/Trust company receiving foreign currency transaction into individual local fixed term or on call."

l "HIHL (Harvest) employs fully certified investment managers. Clients have the benefit of the best possible investment strategies compatible with their desired level of risk."

l "HIHL possesses the capability of receiving overseas transactions via one of the local banks and depositing these funds into personal individual investment, interest-bearing accounts held in the name of the individual clients."

Excerpts from the website, which were copied shortly before it was removed in mid-December, state that the website was last modified in July 2007.

The Investment Business Act 2003 states: "(1) A person shall not carry on, or purport to carry on, investment business in or from Bermuda unless that person is for the time being licensed or is exempted by or under an order made under section 13.

"(2) A person who contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and liable: (a) on summary conviction, to a fine of $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term of two years or to both; (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of $250,000 or to imprisonment for a term of five years or to both.

"(3) In proceedings brought against a person for an offence under subsection (1) it shall be a defence for such person to prove that it took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence."

Harvest Investment Holdings is one of 33 firms named on BMA's warning list, with the website stating: "This company is not licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority to conduct any regulated business."

In the past two years, Mr. Curtis has come under strong criticism in Bermuda over his leadership of Government's faith-based tourism initiative, in which hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars were allocated to Harvest Investment Holdings with little return in terms of tourists.

Earlier this month, Bermuda's Department of Public Prosecutions made an application for a restraint order against Mr. Curtis under the Proceeds of Crime Act, which would prevent him selling any assets ahead of any impending court cases.

Sysix Technology, of Illinois, and TSC Holdings, of the Bahamas, have also filed a joint writ following investments made with Harvest Investment Holdings in the latter part of 2009.

Over the past few weeks, Mr. Curtis has refused to answer his telephone, ignored all voice mail messages and e-mails, and slammed his office door in the face of a Royal Gazette reporter.

Dr. Brown and PLP chairman David Burt have repeatedly refused to comment when asked how the allegations affect Mr. Curtis' role within the party.

The only recent public remark the Premier has made on the subject was in a Facebook argument with a Bermuda citizen earlier this month: "As far as Mr. Curtis is concerned, unfortunately for you, he has not been convicted of any crime.

"Therefore my Government considers him, as we consider you, innocent until proven guilty."