Businessman Andre Curtis was in Supreme Court yesterday for a hearing relating to his company Harvest Investment Holdings.

The session — mainly a chambers hearing behind closed doors — comes after Curtis denied charges including providing misleading statements and practices between August 1, 2008, and December 25, 2008; he is due back in court in August.

Shortly before the lawyers and judge Carlisle Greaves went into his chambers, Mr. Justice Greaves quizzed Curtis — who was wearing a T-shirt — on why he looked like he was dressed for the beach.

Curtis replied that he had only become aware of the court hearing at the last moment, and the judge told him the court staff would have to find him a shirt to wear.

The rest of the hearing was held privately, and prosecutors would not disclose what it was about.

The case is in addition to a Montana State Auditor Office's probe into a Ponzi scheme Curtis is said to have partly run; and a Bermuda Police Service investigation into his handling of Government's faith-based tourism initiative.

Curtis, of Whale Lane, Warwick, is the former political campaign manager for Premier Ewart Brown in Warwick South Central.