A former civil servant who submitted falsified subsistence allowance and travel expenses claim forms to the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts and obtained $1,750 has been convicted by the Suva Magistrates Court.
Former Head of the World Heritage Section, Anaseini Kalougata, was charged by FICAC and has been convicted on one count of falsification of documents and one count of obtaining financial advantage.
Kalougata between November 1st and November 30th, 2017, submitted falsified subsistence allowance and travel expenses claim forms to the Ministry of Education.
In his ruling, Magistrate Shageeth Somaratne says that while there was no direct evidence that Kalougata personally obtained the funds, it was evident that she falsified the amounts in the meal forms and paid participants less than what was recorded.
Although the particulars alleged that Kalougata obtained $2,700, the evidence presented during the hearing established that she obtained $1,750, which she was not entitled to from the Ministry through the falsified documents.
Kalougata will be sentenced on April 13th.
