The Human Resource Manager at the Fijian Elections Office has confirmed in court that the tax refund received by former Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem was legitimate.

Afina Hussein, testifying under cross-examination by the defense, stated that key documents, including Saneem’s appointment letter from the President, were not placed in his official files and no efforts were made to obtain the documents afterwards.

She also confirmed that Saneem had not received any salary review, despite successfully overseeing two elections during his first tenure as Supervisor of Elections.

Hussein acknowledged that there had been a misunderstanding over the interpretation of an additional clause in the Deed of Variation of Saneem’s contract.

The Manager HR stated that when asked by the defense about her opinion of the contract, she said that every person must pay their taxes.

Hussein also stated that the finance team would not be able to process any payments for Saneem without proper documents, and the Deed of Variation was accepted as a credible document.

The Manager HR also agreed when the defense asked her that the additional clause in the Deed of Variation of Saneem’s contract has been misapplied, as the government, as the employer, would pay any additional penalties that arose from his back-pay in 2021 and not the Fijian Elections office.

She also confirmed that Saneem was suspended with full pay, but he chose to resign rather than get paid while the tribunal was taking place.

The trial concerns allegations that former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, while Acting Prime Minister, approved a Deed of Variation and Addendum that allowed payment of Saneem’s taxes without proper authorization.

Sayed-Khaiyum faces charges of abuse of office, while Saneem is charged with receiving a corrupt benefit.

The case is set to continue tomorrow.

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