Petite Mustique

The island is just over 2 km south of Mustique's southernmost point. In between lies the tiny rocky land Petit Cay, which represents the continuation of the north-western tip of the island. Petite Mustique, like all islands of the Grenadines, is severely rugged. Six gullies fall away into the sea and enclose the bays of the island, with the southernmost gully slightly longer than the others. South of the south-western panhandle stands Dry Rock, and about 500 m south-west of that is a reef. The island's shore is characterized by almost continuous cliffs. There are few opportunities to get to the island from the sea, and the hills of the island are covered with dense vegetation. The Windward Islands (Lesser Antilles) continue a number of miles south with the Savan group. == History and scam ==

The island was sold to the government of Saint Vincent sometime shortly before 1806. There may have been an attempt to establish a leper colony on the island; four individuals were listed as living there in 1817, but the island was uninhabited by 1867. In early 2007, Nano approached Vizzion Europe, a Belgian development company founded by Turko-Belgian CEO Şefik Birkiye. By April, Vizzion Europe agreed to buy Petit Mustique for $62 million in order to develop a luxury hotel and resort, as Nano assured the company the island was flat, clear, and with a large and easily accessible beach. However, Nano did not allow any Vizzion Europe employees or surveyors to visit or see the island during the negotiations. possibly due to inaction by the Vincentian government. While contending with Vizzion Europe in Belgian court, Nano continued to shop Petite Mustique to private buyers, arranging a sale to Ilyas Khrapunov, son of the Kazakh oligarch and government minister Mukhtar Ablyazov. Nano sealed the deal with Khrapunov by offering him a free Monet painting in addition to the island. An appraisal revealed the painting to be fake. Upon Khrapunov's subsequent discovery that the island was not what he had been promised, Nano refused to return the $500,000 deposit he had received and moved to South America, However, in 2012, Nano was arrested in France and extradited to Italy, where he was sentenced to six years in prison for conspiracy and fraud in an unrelated case. After serving his sentence, he was subsequently extradited to Belgium to face charges related to the fraudulent sales of Petite Mustique. Nano now asserts that he remains the owner of Petite Mustique Island. == References ==