Former employee of the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts, Rahul Ravikash Kumar who obtained a financial advantage amounting to $341,981.81 by falsifying the Transport Assistance data, has been sentenced to 7 years in prison by the Suva Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to 58 counts of corruption-related offences.
Kumar was charged by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption on the 1st of April 2021 with 56 counts of money laundering, one count of unauthorized modification of data, and one count of obtaining a financial advantage.
FICAC says while employed in the Transport Assistance Unit between the 4th of April 2017 and the 20th of June 2020, Kumar unlawfully accessed the Financial Management Information System (FMIS) of the Ministry, entered the unauthorized data.
The Commission says on the 4th of July 2023, Kumar voluntarily pleaded guilty to all charges and was subsequently convicted.
While delivering the sentence, Suva Magistrate Jeremaia Savou emphasised the severity of the offence and ruled that the sentence must be served in full as a custodial sentence, with no provision for full or partial suspension.
Kumar has been sentenced to an aggregate term of 7 years with a non-parole period of 5 years.
The Court noted that the Prosecution submission that the $341,981.81 has not been recovered, nor was there any restitution made by the accused.
The Court has allowed 28 days for appeal.
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