Peer gave impression he had no role in firm when it allegedly built mansion for Turks and Caicos PM, Panorama claims
The Tory peer Michael Ashcroft has been accused of deliberately misleading the public and the stock exchange over his business interests.
The allegations by the BBC's Panorama centre on a construction company that allegedly built and funded a luxury mansion for a former prime minister now under investigation for corruption.
In a programme broadcast on Monday night, Panorama alleged that the peer had given the misleading impression to the public that he had no involvement in the firm when the mansion was being built.
The BBC based its accusations on the evidence of 14 former employees and leaked confidential company documents which, it said, show the peer controlling the firm at the time. The documents show the peer issuing instructions, sometimes in his own handwriting, on how to run the company, the BBC said.
The peer told the programme he stood by every statement he had made to Panorama. On Tuesday, a spokesman for Lord Ashcroft told the Guardian he "absolutely" rejected the allegation that he had deliberately misled the public. He said the peer had had no involvement in the day-to-day management of the construction firm for more than a decade.
The allegations shed new light on the business empire of the secretive peer, who is one of the biggest political donors in British history. He has given more than £10m to the Conservative party and has been an influential figure for some years. Recently David Cameron appointed him to lead a review of British military bases in Cyprus.
Ashcroft has often faced criticism over his business affairs. During the last election campaign he admitted he had not been paying full UK tax on his income from abroad. He had said he would pay more tax when he became a member of the House of Lords.
The latest dispute revolves around a construction company in Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean, where the peer has had significant business interests. The tiny country is now being run directly by the British government after an official inquiry uncovered allegations of large-scale corruption by local politicians. The allegations are being investigated by a team of British detectives.
The one-time prime minister Michael Misick has been under investigation over claims that he seemed to become much richer after he won power, spending lavishly on luxuries such as private jets. Misick denies the claims.
After taking power in 2003, he moved into a luxury mansion with an estimated value of $16m, built by the local construction firm Johnston International. According to Panorama, one of Johnston's sister companies lent $4.7m to Misick to pay for his home, and detectives have found no evidence that he has paid back any of the money.
The programme highlighted claims by Ashcroft that he "has had no economic beneficial or legal interest in the Johnston group since June 1999", when he sold the firm. That claim was challenged by the BBC, which quoted from leaked company documents covering a seven-year period after 1999.
According to the BBC, the documents show the firm's chief executive asking Ashcroft for instructions on major building projects in faxes sent to the peer's private numbers. The peer replies with orders such as "I will revert to this when I am on my boat" and "have a chat but don't use up too much time on it".
In one of the faxes quoted by the programme, the chief executive wrote to the peer to say the "perception in Belize is that you are still in full control" of the firm's parent company, "which you are of course". Other faxes are said to show the chief executive thanking the peer for a bonus worth $300,000 dollars.
Panorama alleged that Ashcroft used a false name, Mr Webster, when he booked into a hotel on the islands to see the chief executive. A source close to Crimestoppers, the charity the peer has long funded, said the peer did not check into hotels under his real name as a security precaution.
The team of British detectives has started to investigate the role Johnston International played in the construction of Misick's mansion, according to the BBC.
There is no suggestion that Lord Ashcroft has acted corruptly. His lawyers told the programme that he had no involvement in the building and financing of Misick's mansion.
Ashcroft told Panorama he "is not, nor ever has been, directly, or indirectly, in part or in whole, an owner" of the parent company of Johnston International.
When asked if he controlled Johnston International or its parent company, he did not answer the question, Panorama reported.