Former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase is now applying to the High Court that his trial which is set to start on the 3rd of July, should be vacated as he is yet to find a suitable lawyer.

Qarase’s lawyer Qoriniasi Bale said Qarase is having great difficulty in securing a Queens Counsel because the ones that he has interviewed from Australia are too expensive.

He is now searching for a QC from New Zealand.

Bale said his client is a high profile person and they have not been able to locate a suitable lawyer locally.

He said Qarase has tried to seek funds overseas but was unable to pursue this due to his bail conditions and has since been unable to secure funds for his lawyer.

FICAC manager Vincent Perera said the defense asked that the trial be vacated on 31st October last year and then again on the 22nd of November last year.

Perera said FICAC did not object to the adjournments as Qarase was looking for a lawyer.

Perera said they now strongly object to the vacation of the trial date as the prosecution has already incurred substantial costs in order to proceed with the trial from the 3rd of next month, having to secure overseas counsel and witnesses.

Justice Priyantha Fernando will rule on the application tomorrow.

Qarase faces six counts of abuse of office and three counts of discharge of duty with respect to property in which he has a private interest.

It is alleged that Qarase between 1992 to 2000 while employed as a director of Fijian Holdings Limited, Financial Advisor of the Fijian Affairs Board and Advisor to the Great Council of Chiefs, and in abuse of the authority of his office, applied in the name of Cicia Plantation Co-Op Society Limited, Mavana Investments Limited and a family owned company named Q-Ten Investments Limited for the issuance and allotment of Class A shares in Fijian Holdings Limited.


Story by: Vijay Narayan