Fiji’s reinstated Director of Public Prosecutions Christopher Pryde has denied allegations of financial irregularities and questions the timing of a complaint lodged against him with FICAC, just days before his return to office.
In a statement, Pryde confirmed he had been informed about the complaint by Acting DPP Nancy Tikoisuva, who alleged inconsistencies in payments made under his contract.
He questioned the findings, pointing out that his personal file had been held by the Chief Registrar’s Office for 21 months during a tribunal process that cleared him of wrongdoing.
“The Chief Registrar’s Office had my personal file for the past 21 months and used the material to make out two allegations that were put before the tribunal, which found they were not made out. Ms. Tikoisuva and the senior managers took two days to conclude that the Chief Registrar’s Office had missed multiple inconsistencies that were so egregious that they needed to be immediately sent to FICAC. What has she found that the Chief Registrar could not?”
Pryde also highlighted that his payments have been audited twice yearly by the Auditor General and the Ministry of Finance without any issues being raised.
He voiced suspicion about the Acting DPP’s motives, stating: “The haste with which the Acting DPP has reviewed my personal file and laid a complaint with FICAC days before I resume my duties as the Director of Public Prosecutions leaves me suspicious as to her true motives and leads me to wonder what may have been going on in my absence that she is anxious for me not to discover.”
Pryde said he intends to address the matter directly with Tikoisuva upon resuming his duties on Monday.
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