A defamation lawsuit may soon be filed against former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry following his allegations against Minister for Finance Biman Prasad.
This potential legal action comes after Mr. Chaudhry called for the government to provide detailed accounts of the 2023 Girmit celebration expenditures.
“The finance minister, who is also under investigation by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC), has failed to provide detailed accounts of the $500,000 allocated for the 2023 Girmit celebrations, almost half of which was granted to a discredited institute headed by his wife and a political ally at the time,” said Mr. Chaudhry.
He made these remarks while criticizing the ‘lavish’ special dinner at the Grand Pacific Hotel hosted by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka for government ministers, assistant ministers, and their spouses earlier this week.
In his statement, Mr. Chaudhry pointed out what he described as flaws in government operations that warrant public attention.
He also included allegations of a drug and sex scandal involving two ministers from earlier this year, who remain in the Cabinet.
In response to these accusations, Mr. Prasad stated: “Mahendra Chaudhry is the biggest crook that I know. He was hiding $2 million in Australia, he’s a convicted criminal and is the last person to talk.
“Why is he jumping around? Mahendra Chaudhry is a compulsive liar, lying about the Girmit funding approved by the Cabinet which has two components: Girmit celebration and conference. This man, a convicted criminal who was hiding $2 million in Australia, is lying about what happened. We’ll see him in court very soon for defamation and for lying about the whole issue.”