Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has stated that he will not hesitate to demote his deputy prime minister and finance minister, Biman Prasad, to the backbench if he faces charges from the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC). Prasad is currently under investigation for allegedly failing to declare all of his assets, income, and liabilities prior to the last election.
Rabuka noted that he had previously set a similar precedent when he moved former Minister for Fisheries, Kalaveti Ravu, to the backbench. The former Deputy FICAC Commissioner, Francis Puleiwai, who abruptly resigned on Thursday, had approved Prasad’s arrest on the same day.
Rabuka mentioned, “Yes, that is the standing procedure with me, and Professor Biman Prasad had already briefed me on the possibility. There is nothing executive about that; that’s what she has said to the media. It did not come to us that he had been arrested. As soon as he is arrested, it will come to me, and when he is charged, he will have to adhere to the laws.”
In response, Prasad indicated that the matter is now with his lawyer and refused to comment further. “As I said, my lawyers have been handling the complaint from the beginning, and they have communicated with FICAC, making it clear that there is no basis for the allegation or any potential charges. That’s where the matter ends for me,” he stated.
The newly appointed FICAC Commissioner, Barbara Malimali, was contacted regarding whether she would reassess Mr. Prasad’s charges, but has not responded before the publication of this article. Malimali is the second person to hold this significant role, following Rashmi Aslam, who was the first FICAC Commissioner since the commission’s inception in 2007 and served from 2012.