A defamation lawsuit may soon be filed against former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry following his allegations against Minister for Finance Biman Prasad.
These developments come after Mr. Chaudhry demanded that the Government release detailed accounts of the 2023 Grimit 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,” Mr. Chaudhry stated.
He expressed these concerns after criticizing the ‘lavish’ Grand Pacific Hotel special dinner hosted by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka for Government Ministers, assistant Ministers, and their spouses earlier this week.
In a statement, Mr. Chaudhry pointed out what he claimed to be flaws in Government operations requiring public scrutiny.
This included allegations of a drug and sex scandal involving two ministers earlier this year, who are still part of the Cabinet.
In response, Mr. 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: the 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.”