Former Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and former Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem.

The Suva High Court will deliver its judgment for the former Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and former Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem on the 2nd of February next year.

Chief Justice Salesi Temo heard closing arguments this morning from State Prosecution, represented by Acting Director of Public Prosecution Nancy Tikoisuva and Hezekiah Noafaga, while Defense counsels were Devanesh Sharma and Gul Fatima.

In this matter, Sayed-Khaiyum is charged with abuse of office, while Saneem faces a charge of receiving a corrupt benefit.

It is alleged that Sayed-Khaiyum, while acting as Prime Minister, signed a Deed of Variation and Addendum approving payment of Saneem’s taxes without proper authorization, which gave Saneem a financial benefit.

While delivering her closing submission, Tikoisuva stated that they have proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt through the evidence and documents submitted during the trial.

She reiterated in court that this is not a tax case nor is it an employment case.

Tikoisuva told the court that the second deed of variation was done to conceal the corruptive motive and conduct.

She maintains that there is nothing wrong for asking for a benefit but proper, legitimate and legal processes should have been followed.

The acting DPP says that he Saneem used his authority over his staff to conceal his actions when he demanded the return of the first deed.

The defense countered by informing the court that the state had not proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Lawyer Devanesh Sharma says that the state has a misconception when they deny the fact that this is employment and tax issue.

Sharma says his clients had never hidden any documents as claimed by the state and all relevant documents were with the Solicitor General relating to appointments and meeting minutes.

He states that the additional clause which was present in the second deed never came into effect and the narrative that the government suffered is misconceived and without any merit.

The defense stated that there was no evidence presented that proved that Saneem was favoring FijiFirst Party.

Sharma also noted that Saneem paid all his taxes as showed in his tax returns.

The defense called for the charges to be dismissed.

Chief Justice notes the extensive volume of the documents and evidences before him and he will go through all of it before making his judgment.

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