Chaudhry is facing three counts of breaching the Exchange Control Act.
After the first prosecution witness took the stand, Chaudhry’s lawyer said that he will make the submission for no case to answer.
Bodor informed the court that Chaudhry received a letter on 23rd October 2009 from Siwatibau and Sloan Barristers and Solicitors, purporting to be a direction of competent authority.
The letter claimed that Chaudhry had breached the Exchange Control Act.
Bodor made the submission that if a direction was to be given, then it was for Reserve Bank of Fiji to give the direction and not Siwatibau and Sloan Barristers and Solicitors.
Chaudhry’s lawyer said that in the absence of a direction from the competent authority, the prosecution cannot succeed and that the three counts should be dismissed.
Prosecution Queens Counsel, Clive Grossman told the assessors that charges against Chaudhry come under the Exchange Control Act.
He said that in summary, Chaudhry had money in Australia and he was bound by law to bring it back but he lent it to various banks there.
Chaudhry has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The first prosecution witness took the stand yesterday.
Reserve Bank of Fiji board secretary, Subrina Hanif said in court that Mahendra Chaudhry had not written to the Reserve Bank of Fiji to seek an approval to open a bank account overseas.
QC Grossman asked Hanif to explain what a Fiji resident should do if they want to open an overseas bank account.
Hanif said that they need to write to RBF and seek an approval.
The first count against Chaudhry is in relation to failure to surrender foreign currency, where it is alleged that Mahendra Chaudhry between November 2000 and July 2010 retained the sum of AUS$1.5 million for his own benefit without the consent of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji.
The second count is in relation to dealing in foreign currency without permission.
The third count relates to Chaudhry having the right to receive a sum of AUS$1.5 million from the financial institutions in Australia and New Zealand, caused the delay of payment of the sum, in whole or in part, to himself by authorizing the continual investment of the sum together with interest acquired back into financial institutions without the permission of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji.
The different accounts that were used to deposit the money or to re-invest the funds were presented in the evidence in court.
This included Chaudhry’s accounts in Commonwealth Bank Australia, Commonwealth Managed Investments Limited Australia, ANZ New Zealand, the Perpetual Investment Management Limited Australia and Colonial First State Investments Limited Australia.
The court heard that Chaudhry received sums totaling over AUS$1.5 million in the form of donations from people in India to assist Chaudhry and his family to leave Fiji following the political upheaval here in May 2000 and to establish residence in Australia.
The AUS$1.5 million was made up of funds deposited into his Cash Management Call Account with the Commonwealth bank in Australia.
Story by: Vijay Narayan & Praneeta Prakash
