Tonga Court Extradites Former Revenue CEO For Trial In Fiji
Anisi Kulufeinga Bloomfield, a former chief executive officer of the Ministry of Fiji Revenue and Customs is to be extradited to Fiji, where he is to be tried for offences of theft and dishonesty allegedly committed between 2011-14.
Justice Niu made this ruling on June 9, after a hearing in the appellate juridiction of the Nuku’alofa Supreme Court.
The accused is alleged to have commited these two offences while acting as head of the Oceania Customs Organisation.
He had applied for habeas corpus to stop his return to Fiji, but this was dismissed by the judge.
The Court heard that in March 2018, the Fijian Government made a request to the Prime Minister of Tonga for the accused to be returned to Fiji to be tried on these criminal offences and a warrant for his arrest was issued in the Magistrate Court of Fiji on 27 March 2018.
The Crown, representing the Prime Minister, approved the request from the Fijian Government.
The Prime Minister then issued an authority to proceed to the Chief Magistrate. A warrant was issued and the accused was arrested on November 22, 2019.
In addition, a search warrant executed at his house found items subject to one of the charges in Fiji.
Charges
■The accused is charged under the Crimes Act of Fiji.
The first count of general dishonesty alleged that between December 1, 2011 and January 31, 2014 at Suva, in the Central Division, he used a credit card belonging to the Oceania Customs Organisation and made purchases that were not authorised by the organisation, and dishonestly obtained a sum of $161,506.66 (FJ$155,528.26)
■O■ theft, he is alleged over the same period, to have dishonestly appropriated items valued at a total of TOP$17,757.77 (FJ$17,100.44 ) which belonged to the organisation.
■The items included a MacBook Pro 17 laptop with accessories, MacBook Pro 15 Retina, Jacket Medium 15 Laptop Bag, Apple Thunderbolt Gigabyte Eth. Adapter, Apple Mini Display Port to VGA Adapter, a printer, computer set, internet modem, keyboard, mouse among others.
Extradition Act
The judge said that Tonga has an Extradition Act, which authorises the request made by the Government of the Republic of Fiji for the return of the accused.
S.3 provides, a person found in Tonga who is accused of a relevant offence in any other country being a country designated in terms of section 4 of this Act, may be arrested and returned to that country.
Some 50 countries, including Fiji, have been designated under S.4 of this Act.
The court heard, the Crown was satisfied that all the requirements of the Extradition Act were met for the return of the accused to Fiji, namely that the two offences with which the accused is charged are relevant offences for the purpose of extradition under the Act. At the same time, the accused applied for an application for a writ of habeas corpus to stop his return to Fiji, claiming that the Magistrate’s Court was wrong to have made the order for his return for trial on the theft charge.
Appeal filed
The Crown filed an appeal against the decision of the Magistrate’s Court that the accused be returned to Fiji for trial on only the theft charge upon the ground that the issue of diplomatic immunity ought to have been left to be decided by the trial court in Fiji. This was because all the Magistrate was required to be satisfied with, was whether or not there was sufficient evidence to commit the accused for trial on the charge of general dishonesty, and there was sufficient evidence. There was no requirement by the Act to stop the return of the accused, argued the Crown.
“I have read the record of the case in the present application of the Government of Fiji, and I agree with the Learned Magistrate, that there is a sufficient case, on both charges, to committ the accused for trial on both charges.”
The judge then quashed the decision by a Magistrate for the defence of immunity in respect of the charge of general dishonesty, because the decision was wrong.
“Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, I dismiss the application of the accused for habeas corpus, and I uphold the appeal of the Crown and order that the accused is committed to be returned to Fiji to be tried on both the two offences of which he has been charged with.”
Hearing date
The hearing of this matter was held on in April and May this year.
Crown counsel was Mrs L. Folaumoetui’i for the appellant. V. Mo’ale represented the respondent Bloomfield.
In Tonga the accused was appointed to a senior government position as CEO for Revenue and Customs, for three-years from March 30, 2015, under the government of Hon. Akilisi Pohiva.Source:
Matangi Tonga Online