Former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry may face a defamation lawsuit from Finance Minister Biman Prasad following Chaudhry’s call for the government to disclose detailed accounts of the 2023 Girmit celebration.
Chaudhry alleged that the Finance Minister, who is currently under investigation by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC), has not provided a detailed breakdown of the $500,000 allocated for the 2023 Girmit celebrations. He claimed that nearly half of this amount was given to an institute led by Prasad’s wife and a political ally.
Chaudhry’s remarks came after he criticized a ‘lavish’ dinner at the Grand Pacific Hotel hosted by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka for government ministers, assistant ministers, and their spouses.
In a statement, Chaudhry pointed out what he considered were operational issues within the government that the public needed to be aware of. This included allegations of a drug and sex scandal involving two ministers, who are still serving in the Cabinet.
Responding to these allegations, Prasad said, “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 Cabinet which has two components of Girmit celebration and conference, and this man, a convicted criminal, who was hiding $2 million in Australia is lying about what happened. I mean, we’ll see him in Court very soon for defamation and for lying about the whole issue.”