Former Post Fiji Chief Executive Dr. Anirudha Bansod has been sentenced to 18 months in prison by Resident-Magistrate Yogesh Prasad. In his ruling, Magistrate Prasad emphasized the case’s public interest and the need for a deterrent sentence, deciding not to suspend Dr. Bansod’s prison term.
The court determined that Dr. Bansod submitted a false declaration regarding confidentiality and conflicts of interest while claiming ignorance of any association with Technobase IT Solutions PVT Limited. In reality, he was familiar with a key employee of the bidding company and violated the trust placed in him to act in the best interests of Post Fiji Limited.
Magistrate Prasad noted that Dr. Bansod, while holding the CEO position and chairing the tender committee with a lucrative salary, communicated with Vaibhav Deshpande from Technobase regarding the tender process, which contradicted his responsibilities to his company. He failed to disclose his relationship with Deshpande prior to the proceedings.
The communication between Dr. Bansod and Deshpande via WhatsApp illustrated the leaking of sensitive information about a government enterprise’s tender processes to Technobase IT Solutions PVT Limited in India. Magistrate Prasad highlighted that Post Fiji’s company policy required board members to declare any conflicts of interest before tenders were opened and awarded. Despite being provided with a declaration form, he falsely stated he had no connections to Technobase.
Dr. Bansod was found guilty of abusing his office and engaging in dishonest conduct that resulted in financial loss, concerning a tender for the design, development, and implementation of the Post Fiji Mobile Application in 2022. He has a 28-day window to appeal the decision in the High Court.