Former Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has said in the Suva High Court today that he has learned that the government did not pay anything to former Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem, as he was overtaxed from his own salary and reimbursed from his own deductions.
Sayed-Khaiyum says government did not pay Saneem anything as he was reimbursed from being overcharged which is what came out in the evidence of their trial.
This is in relation to Sayed-Khaiyum and Saneem’s abuse of office trial before Chief Justice Salesi Temo.
In terms of the second Deed of Variation, Sayed-Khaiyum says the then Solicitor General Sharvada Sharma came to him regarding Saneem’s complaints about the tax deductions, and he told Sharma to attend to it and draft the deed.
When Chief Justice Temo asked who drafted the contract, Sayed-Khaiyum replied that he does not know as it is done by the Solicitor General’s Office.
Sayed-Khaiyum says they have several lawyers in the Solicitor General’s Office, but they always get instructions from the Solicitor General.
Defence counsel, Devanesh Sharma pointed out to Chief Justice Temo that Saneem was taxed $110,000 after calculations were made on his new salary of $350,000 plus his back pay.
He says Saneem should have only been taxed $67,000 but the FEO deducted $110,000.
The defence counsel says the $55,000 was the reimbursement of money that rightfully belongs to Saneem.
Sayed-Khaiyum says all these deductions were made by the FEO and the government had nothing to do with it.
The trial will continue on Monday.
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