GORDON 'Butch' Stewart's Sandals Resorts International (SRI) last night expressed satisfaction with the outcome of a probe by the Special Investigation Prosecution Team (SIPT) which indemnified the resort chain's operations in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI).

SIPT had earlier praised Sandals for its "extraordinary and unique co-operation" in the investigations of former TCI officials, following which the resort agreed to pay US$12 million.

The prosecutors did not give further details of the probe, but US network Fox News quoted a 2011 statement by Sandals general counsel, Dmitri Singh, that a former Sandals officer had been linked to "various unauthorised transactions" in the Turks and Caicos.

SIPT, in a news statement yesterday, also made it clear that under the payment agreement reached with the TCI government, Sandals did not admit any "liability by the company, its directors and/or officers".

It emphasised that from the outset of the probe, Sandals had voluntarily offered its cooperation with international authorities carrying out the investigations of former TCI officials, including former premier Michael Misick for whom an extradition order is being sought by the British authorities.

"The agreement... is due in part to the cooperation of the company with the United States authorities to a degree that has been acknowledged to be both extraordinary and unique, and included the early and voluntary release of valuable evidence that has been shared with the SIPT. That has materially assisted SIPT's investigations," the statement said.

SRI, in its own statement, said it was satisfied with the outcome of the investigation by SIPT and would not comment extensively on the matter.

"It is not our intention to comment extensively on the conclusion of the SIPT investigation, as the final release is quite clear about this matter, which has been prominent in the news for a protracted period," Sandals said in the statement issued by its legal counsel.

"Suffice it to say that Sandals Resorts International is pleased at the outcome. The matter has been concluded as far as Sandals Resorts International is concerned and we are satisfied with the manner in which it has been resolved.

"We feel that justice has prevailed, Sandals Resorts International has been indemnified and the outcome leaves clear room for the process of justice to continue," it said.

Sandals operates the top-flight Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos, and the company recently purchased the former Veranda resort property as part of an expansion in TCI.