The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption will formally amend the charge information against former Telecom Fiji Ltd (TFL) and Amalgamated Telecom Holdings (ATH) board member Sanjay Kaba and present the updated document in magistrates’ court tomorrow, the prosecution told the court on Monday. The change follows an agreement during the trial that Kaba resigned from the TFL and ATH boards in 2018, not 2019 as originally recorded.
Under the unamended information, FICAC alleged that between January 27, 2017 and January 2019 Kaba, by virtue of his board positions at TFL and ATH, used information and influence to procure the submission of a tender through Houng Lee Kaba Jacob Pie Limited (HLK Jacob), a company in which he was a director and shareholder. The amendment will alter one date in that period from 2019 to 2018 to reflect the agreed resignation date and replace the word “tender” with “expression of interest” in the particulars of the alleged conduct.
Prosecutors also maintain that, as a result of that conduct, Kaba obtained $766,327.22 between June 2022 and July 2023, knowing or believing that HLK Jacob was not eligible to receive the financial advantage. That alleged receipt of funds, occurring years after the board tenure referenced in the original charge sheet, was highlighted in court documents and is central to FICAC’s case.
FICAC called its final two witnesses in the matter on Monday: Samuela Vadei, TFL’s general manager of human resources and corporate services, and former TFL civil engineering consultant Isoa Tawaketolu. The prosecution told Magistrate Charles Ratakele it intends to close its case tomorrow after presenting the amended information.
The change from “tender” to “expression of interest” and the corrected resignation date are the principal technical adjustments being sought by FICAC. Those amendments aim to align the written charge with the factual positions both parties accepted during the course of the trial, the prosecution said. Legal practitioners note that such wording can be significant because different procurement processes carry different administrative and legal obligations, although the court has yet to rule on any implications.
Once FICAC closes its case, the defence will have the opportunity to call witnesses and present its evidence. The hearing, which has been advancing through witness testimony, is now at a critical procedural stage, with the prosecution signalling it will finalise its presentation of evidence tomorrow before Magistrate Ratakele.
Kaba, a former board member of both TFL and ATH and listed as a director and shareholder of HLK Jacob in the charge sheet, has denied wrongdoing through his legal representatives during earlier court appearances. The proposed amendments and the prosecution’s scheduled close mark the latest development in an ongoing matter that has drawn attention to procurement practices involving state-linked telecommunications entities.
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