Former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry is taking legal action against Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad for defamation. According to the Statement of Claim, Prof Prasad was reported on August 1, 2024, making a statement about Chaudhry, in which he referred to him as “…the biggest crook, he was hiding $2 million in Australia…”
These remarks were published in a news website and a local daily. Chaudhry asserts that the statements made by Prof Prasad were both false and malicious, aiming to depict him as a thief who concealed funds abroad.
Prof Prasad further indicated that donations were made by the people of Haryana, India, to facilitate the relocation of Chaudhry’s family to another country for their safety, considering the threats they faced in Fiji due to the political climate at that time. He mentioned that between November 2000 and April 2002, Chaudhry received funds that were deposited through the Indian Consul General Office in Sydney into his Commonwealth Bank of Australia account.
Chaudhry is seeking damages, claiming that Prof Prasad was aware of the truth when he made the defamatory comments, which he knew were untrue. Despite being formally notified to retract his statement by Chaudhry’s legal counsel on August 12, 2024, Prof Prasad has not retracted his comments. The court has yet to schedule a date for the case to be heard.