It is judgement day today for former Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and former Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem.
Chief Justice Salesi Temo had adjourned the case on March 30th to today as he said that he needed more time to prepare his judgement. He had earlier adjourned the matter from February to March.
The judgement is scheduled for 10.30 this morning.
Sayed-Khaiyum is charged with one count of abuse of office while Saneem is charged with one count of receiving a corrupt benefit.
The maximum penalty for these charges is 10 years imprisonment.
It is alleged that between the 30th of June, 2022 and the 12th of July, 2022 in Suva, whilst being employed in the civil service as the Acting Prime Minister of Fiji, Sayed-Khaiyum signed a Deed of Variation and Addendum between the Government of Fiji and the Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem, agreeing to pay the taxes of Mohammed Saneem without the proper approval of the Constitutional Offices Commission and the President of Fiji, in abuse of the authority of his office, which was an arbitrary act prejudicial to the rights of the Government of Fiji.
It is alleged that between the 1st of June and the 31st of July 2022, while being employed as the Supervisor of Elections, Saneem without lawful authority and reasonable excuse, asked for, and obtained a benefit for himself, that is, the approval and payment of deductible tax relief of more than $50,000 on his back pay from a senior Government official.
