Fiji's former prime minister Frank Bainimarama to spend night in police custody after abuse of office charge
Fiji's former prime minister Frank Bainimarama will spend the night in police custody after being charged with abuse of office.
Fiji Police allege that in September 2011 Mr Bainimarama "recklessly abused" his position by waiving through a tender bid for hospital engineering services.
Mr Bainimarama's former attorney-general, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, and the country's former health minister, Dr Neil Sharma, have also been charged.
Mr Bainimarama, a former coup leader, led Fiji for 16 years before being ousted in the 2022 general election.
The three men were taken into custody for questioning on Tuesday morning and were charged over the alleged offences on Tuesday evening (local time).
They will spend the night in custody and face court in Suva on Wednesday.
In a detailed statement of charges released on Tuesday evening, police allege the three men "failed to comply" with statutory requirements for tenders as stipulated under Fiji law.
Mr Bainimarama is alleged to have granted a "waiver of tender process without lawful justification" leading to the abuse of office charge.
As well as one abuse of office charge, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum is accused of intentionally obstructing Fiji's Independent Commission Against Corruption in its subsequent investigation.
Mr Sharma was charged with two counts of abuse of office and two counts of breach of trust for his alleged role.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-06/former-fiji-pm-frank-bainimarama-charged-abuse-office/103432482