Assessors now deliberate on Chaudhry’s case

The four assessors have retired behind closed doors to deliberate on their opinion after the summing up in former Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry's case.

High Court Judge, Justice Paul Madigan directed the assessors on the matters of law and the facts of the case.

He stressed that the burden of proof lies on the prosecution and the accused person is presumed innocent until he is found guilty.

Justice Madigan said based on the charges the assessors should assess whether Chaudhry is a resident of Fiji, whether he had 1.5 million Australian dollars in overseas accounts and whether he followed laws relating to the exchange control act.

Chaudhry is facing three counts of breaching the Exchange Control Act.

The maximum sentence for the charge is two years imprisonment.

The first count against Chaudhry is in relation to failure to surrender foreign currency, where it is alleged that Mahendra Chaudhry between November 2000 and July 2010 retained the sum of 1.5 million Australian dollars for his own benefit without the consent of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji.

The second count is in relation to dealing in foreign currency without permission.

The third count relates to Chaudhry having the right to receive a sum of $1.5 million Australian dollars from the financial institutions in Australia and New Zealand, caused the delay of payment of the sum, in whole or in part, to himself by authorizing the continual investment of the sum together with interest acquired back into financial institutions without the permission of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji.

Stay with us as the assessors return with their opinion.

 
Story by: Vijay Narayan