FORMER BGL DIRECTOR SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS IN PRISON

Guilty of Obtaining Property by Deception and Money Laundering

A former director of Bairain Group (Fiji) Limited (BGL) has been sentenced to three years in prison for obtaining property by deception and money laundering. The accused was found guilty of deceiving a complainant out of $1,240,740.74 between June 2014 and January 2016.

Sentencing

In handing down the sentence, Judge [Judge’s Name] considered the mitigating factors and suspended the 3-year prison sentence for 18 months. The accused was also fined $100,000, which must be paid in four weeks or face six months imprisonment.

• If the accused fails to pay the fine, he will have to serve the remaining 1 year and 6 months of his sentence.
• As part of the restitution order, the accused’s directorship and 10% shareholding in BGL were terminated, with the complainant taking over as the majority shareholder.
• The accused was ordered to pay $1 million into court as part of the restitution.

Commendable Attitude

The judge praised the accused for accepting responsibility for his actions and making full restitution. “His attitude is commendable and should be encouraged among other offenders who have committed similar crimes,” said the judge.

Appeal Period

The sentence is considered concurrent, meaning that the accused will only serve a total of 3 years in prison. He has 30 days to appeal against the conviction and sentence.

Representation

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution prosecuted the case, while Iqbal Khan & Associates represented the accused.