BLACKGUARD: With apologies to Ashwin Raj's 'Dictionary' and the Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 'Blackguard: A man who behaves in a dishonourable or contemptible way.' |  |
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*If we had got hold of his mandatory statutory declarations ten years ago (2014) and not ten years later (2024), Biman Prasad would have been thrown out of Parliament, and possibly languishing in Naboro Prison for falsifying his 2014 statutory declaration. He got elected as NFP MP and leader of the party, and now as Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. |  |
*In April 2025, Malimali and Fotofili closed Prasad's case, citing that he was not required to declare his superannuation and that he had declared his shares and had confirmed not receiving any dividends from Lotus (Fiji) and Lotus Tours and Travel, a separate entity associated with Prasad. (Editor: Malimali and Fotofili had based their decision to close the Biman File after assessing the two complaints that were filed by Alex Forwood, Sydney, Australia). The two chose to ignore Fijileaks complaints with scores of documents, including that Biman Prasad did not disclose, as required, that his wife was trustee of Global Girmit Institute.
*We recently revealed that as co-director his cousin Sunil Chand has been receiving a director's fees. If so, what about Prasad?
*But since he lied in his FIRST statutory declaration to enter Parliament in 2014 under the 2013 Constitution, he must be expelled from Parliament and his case, including subsequent cases, be handled by Fiji Police.
*We also allege that he might have lied about the total worth of shares in his first declaration. He claimed he held $85,000 worth of shares in a company - he didn't reveal the name - now we know it was Lotus (Fiji), and neither did he reveal that he was one of the two founding directors of Lotus (Fiji). He was gifted 5% shares, presumably to enable the company to obtain a bank loan to build 28 villa units, then valued at over $4million.
*Coming soon: The Valuation Report that proves Prasad lied about the total worth of his shares: $85,000. It was worth $210,000 in 2014.
*Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd, commonly referred to as Lotus(Fiji), was officially registered on 15 March 2014. The company was co-founded by Biman Prasad and his cousin Sunil Chand. At the time of registration, Prasad held a 5% share (gifted to him by Chand) in the company, while Chand held the remaining 95%. By 2018, their ownership was adjusted to an equal 50/50 shareholding.
*Fijileaks investigations revealed that he did not declare in his first declaration (28 July 2014) and subsequently his directorship in Lotus (Fiji), as mandated under Fiji's Political Parties Act 2013.
*In his Maiden Speech, on Wednesday 15 October 2014, as the newly elected NFP MP and party leader in Parliament, Prasad told us that the NFP fielded 49 men and women of integrity, honesty, and qualified to serve the people of Fiji. Three were elected to Parliament:
 'Madam Speaker, our people have spoken. They have elected their government for the next four years. We wish the Prime Minister Honourable Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama and his government well for the next four years. As a party the NFP fought the general elections on specific issues. Team NFP had 49 men and women of integrity, honesty, and qualified to serve the people of Fiji. |  |
We did not campaign along racial and religious lines or promote lies and deceit. We thank our members, supporters and well-wishers for placing their trust in us. We did not win any seats in the 1999 and 2006 general elections. Madam Speaker, it is therefore a matter of some pride that the NFP is back in Parliament with 3 seats. We were here in this fine building during the Legislative Council era led by the late A D Patel in the 1960’s. Then the NFP raised the issue of the need for a pensions institution for our workers. We were here represented by the late Siddiq Koya when we extended our support to transition to full independence. We were here when under the leadership of now retired international jurist Jai Ram Reddy when the country made considerable progress economically and socially in the 1970s and early 1980s. We were here when that progress was painfully derailed by the start of the debilitating cycle of coups. We are here today to help put that last 27 years of suffering behind us; heal our nation and move on to find our greatness and our rightful place as the leader of the South Pacific. We had, like other parties contested to form government. We have fallen short. But this takes nothing away from the heroic effort led by the greatest team of volunteers in the country – the Team NFP. A heartfelt thanks to Team NFP. We are represented by three MPs today. Their election speaks of the resilience of the principles of fairness, equality and social justice. These principles have defined the National Federation Party inside this House and outside for all 51 years of its existence.'
*Biman Prasad MUST be KICKED OUT of Fiji's Parliament. He lied and falsified details in his statutory declarations in 2014, and continued until 2024. He must be expelled from Parliament.
*In closing the 'Ficac File', Barbara Malimali claimed that 'As there were no grievances raised in almost a decade, any ordinary person in the Honourable Dr Prasad's position might think that the declarations provided were sufficient'.
*We recently pointed out that the Political Parties Act 2013 requires that election candidates declare their incomes, assets, shares, directorships etc truthfully and faithfully. Biman Prasad lied for 10 years (for a decade) until we got hold of his declarations (2014-24).
*Here, we are guided by the words of the great English judge Lord Denning in King v Victor Parsons & Co [1973]:
“The word 'fraud' here is not used in the common law sense. It is used in the equitable sense to denote conduct by the defendant or his agent such that it would be 'against conscience' for him to avail himself of the lapse of time. The cases show that, if a man knowingly commits a wrong (such as digging underground another man's coal); or a breach of contract (such as putting in bad foundations to a house), in such circumstances that it is unlikely to be found out for many a long day, he cannot rely on the Statute of Limitations as a bar to the claim: see Bulli Coal Mining Co v Osborne [1899] AC 351 and Applegate v Moss [1971] 1 QB 406.
In order to show that he 'concealed' the right of action 'by fraud', it is not necessary to show that he took active steps to conceal his wrongdoing or breach of contract. It is sufficient that he knowingly committed it and did not tell the owner anything about it. He did the wrong or committed the breach secretly. By saying nothing he keeps it secret. He conceals the right of action. He conceals it by 'fraud' as those words have been interpreted in the cases. To this word 'knowingly' there must be added recklessly': see Beaman v ARTS Ltd [1949] 1 KB 550, 565-566. Like the man who turns a blind eye. He is aware that what he is doing may well be a wrong, or a breach of contract, but he takes the risk of it being so. He refrains from further inquiry least it should prove to be correct: and says nothing about it. The court will not allow him to get away with conduct of that kind. It may be that he has no dishonest motive: but that does not matter. He has kept the plaintiff out of the knowledge of his right of action: and that is enough: see Kitchen v Royal Air Force Association [1958] 1 WLR 563.”
In order to show that he 'concealed' the right of action 'by fraud', it is not necessary to show that he took active steps to conceal his wrongdoing or breach of contract. It is sufficient that he knowingly committed it and did not tell the owner anything about it. He did the wrong or committed the breach secretly. By saying nothing he keeps it secret. He conceals the right of action. He conceals it by 'fraud' as those words have been interpreted in the cases. To this word 'knowingly' there must be added recklessly': see Beaman v ARTS Ltd [1949] 1 KB 550, 565-566. Like the man who turns a blind eye. He is aware that what he is doing may well be a wrong, or a breach of contract, but he takes the risk of it being so. He refrains from further inquiry least it should prove to be correct: and says nothing about it. The court will not allow him to get away with conduct of that kind. It may be that he has no dishonest motive: but that does not matter. He has kept the plaintiff out of the knowledge of his right of action: and that is enough: see Kitchen v Royal Air Force Association [1958] 1 WLR 563.”
*DENNING and FIJI: Lord Denning, played a key role in resolving a dispute in Fiji's sugar industry. In 1969, he was appointed to arbitrate a conflict between Fiji's sugarcane growers and the Australian owners of the sugar refining mills. The arbitration was prompted by the growers' dissatisfaction with their contract and the mill owners' threat to leave Fiji if terms were not improved. The conflict stemmed from a contract expiring in March 1970 that sugarcane growers felt was unfavourable to them. Dennings arbitration led to a solution that favoured the growers by creating a new price formula and requiring mill owners to have their accounts inspected by an accountant.
LORD DENNING: "In order to show that he 'concealed' the right of action 'by fraud', it is not necessary to show that he took active steps to conceal his wrongdoing or breach of contract. It is sufficient that he knowingly committed it and did not tell the owner anything about it."
*In Biman Prasad's case, he knowingly and recklessly concealed his directorship of Lotus (Fiji) from the Fiji Elections Office when he fought and won the 2014 election under the 2013 Constitution and the d'Hondt Electoral System. Now, he wants the same Constitution dismantled. He must be expelled from Parliament, and the Fiji Police (with the help of the RFMF]) must take him into custody, and lay the charges that he was facing on 5 September.
