Prosecution witness Alifereti Wakavesi told the Suva High Court that former Health Minister Dr Neil Sharma was directly involved in a hospital equipment tender.

Wakavesi, a former FICAC investigator, testified that email evidence retrieved from government ITC  systems identified Dr Sharma as the primary author of several messages and a recipient in various other exchanges.

The emails involved Dr Sharma, former Health Permanent Secretary Dr. Sala Saketa and individuals including Vasu Devan, Irvin Leung and Davina Nalagi.

The court heard that Leung served as the contact person for the equipment purchase and maintained a business link with Devan, the owner of New Zealand-based bidder Hospineer.

Wakavesi noted that while bidding documents originated from the Fiji Procurement Office, the 13-year-old case was previously stalled after FICAC was instructed to pause the investigation.

Following a 2022 search warrant, police collected further evidence linked to the tender.

Wakavesi admitted that some evidence was never fully gathered and noted that several officers originally involved in the case have since passed away.

Dr Sharma faces four counts, including abuse of office and breach of trust. He is accused of manipulating 2011 Ministry of Health tenders (CTN 66/2011 and CTN 153/2011) to favor Hospineer over other bidders.

Voreqe Bainimarama faces one count of abuse of office for allegedly approving a tender waiver for CTN 66/2011 without lawful justification.

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum faces two counts, including approving a tender waiver for CTN 153/2011 and obstructing justice by allegedly directing FICAC to shelve the investigation into Sharma between 2012 and 2019.

Prosecutors claim this directive delayed charges for nearly a decade despite the availability of evidence.

Defense lawyer Wylie Clark is currently cross-examining Wakavesi before High Court judge Justice Usaia Ratuvili.

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