Chaudhry Alleges Ministerial Involvement in Gold Ore Scam

Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry alleges that 20 containers of gold ore have already been shipped out of Fiji to China.

Chaudhry alleges that this could not have happened without the approval of Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources Filimone Vosarogo and Finance Minister Biman Prasad.

Chaudhry further alleges that Minister Prasad had earlier approved an application by a Chinese company to import 300kg of ore from Hong Kong.

According to Chaudhry's allegations, the company stated in its application that the imported ore was meant to test an electronic furnace it had installed, with the processed ore to be sent to Australia for quality testing.

Chaudhry alleges that this application and its approval by the Finance Minister does not make sense, questioning why Vatukoula ore could not have been used instead.

Chaudhry also alleges that Minister Prasad must explain his role in what he describes as a “sordid saga”, along with Minister Vosarogo.

Furthermore, Chaudhry alleges that the 20 container loads of gold ore were unlawfully exported to China and is calling on authorities to confiscate the remaining containers stored at a haulage company’s yard.

Chaudhry alleges that the Police must launch an investigation to bring those responsible to justice, stating that the case is of international importance.

He further alleges that smuggling gold or gold ore in this manner could constitute an international crime.