“Even some government people are responding to these so-called whistleblowers, bloggers, self-style analysts. Some of the individuals behind misinformation campaigns were based overseas and were deliberately spreading false narratives to target people they disliked. Some are leaving, some who have left the country 30 years ago, 40 years ago, sitting somewhere overseas, are fabricating, concocting, doctoring information to create dislike of people they don’t like. The spread of manipulated and misleading information posed a challenge for public discourse and decision-making. So, what I am saying is, my message to the people is, trust the mainstream media. Read the mainstream media. Listen to the mainstream media for credibility.”
Biman Prasad was speaking on The Fiji Times online portal The Lens@177 with NFP sympathizer Anish Chand, whom Lenora Qereqeretabua welcomed in her speech at Rakiraki as a "Friend of the NFP".
Fijileaks: The Documents Give a LIE to Biman Prasad's Claim
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*How come NFP leader and former USP professor didn't remember his WIFE buying two units worth $300,00 from Lotus (Fiji) and Sunil Chand. Biman Prasad has not disclosed these two units in his Statutory Declarations from 2017 to 2024.
*Biman Prasad with a security guard at the Westfield Villas', Legalega, Nadi.
APOLOGY: When we first began examining Biman Prasad's statutory declarations and subsequently publishing our findings, we went out of our way to privately apologise to his wife, Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand, for any embarrassment, discomfort, or distress that our investigations might cause her and her family.
However, as the evidence trail expanded, it became increasingly apparent that questions also arise regarding assets held jointly or connected to Dr Chand herself. As a result, we believe these matters now warrant proper scrutiny by the relevant authorities.
Whether Dr Chand was fully aware of the matters under investigation, or whether she was simply an innocent spouse relying on the representations of her husband, is not for us to determine. Those are questions that can only be answered by Dr Chand herself and, if necessary, through inquiries conducted by the appropriate authorities.
However, as the evidence trail expanded, it became increasingly apparent that questions also arise regarding assets held jointly or connected to Dr Chand herself. As a result, we believe these matters now warrant proper scrutiny by the relevant authorities.
Whether Dr Chand was fully aware of the matters under investigation, or whether she was simply an innocent spouse relying on the representations of her husband, is not for us to determine. Those are questions that can only be answered by Dr Chand herself and, if necessary, through inquiries conducted by the appropriate authorities.
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“Every sole trader that owns assets will have to declare what their assets are. If they have five properties or 10 cars or real estate it will have to be declared. They might have gotten them through legitimate means and that is fine. But from a tax point of view we will be looking at that, and you will need to explain whether they paid taxes on it or how they got them.” |  |
FRCS chief executive Udit Singh’s warning is simple: from 2027, Fijians with multiple properties, vehicles, or unexplained assets may have to show not merely what they own, but how they acquired it, whether taxes were paid, and whether the declared income supports the asset trail.
For ordinary taxpayers, this is a future compliance burden. For former Finance Minister and NFP leader Biman Chand Prasad, it raises a sharper question: why should FRCS wait until 2027 to ask questions that were already staring the State in the face from his own statutory declarations?
For ordinary taxpayers, this is a future compliance burden. For former Finance Minister and NFP leader Biman Chand Prasad, it raises a sharper question: why should FRCS wait until 2027 to ask questions that were already staring the State in the face from his own statutory declarations?
If a sole trader with five properties or ten vehicles must explain the source of wealth, then a former Finance Minister who allegedly failed to disclose interests in Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd, off-plan villa arrangements, related-party property transactions, and capital gains tax payments deserves no softer standard.
The heart of the matter is not whether assets can be lawfully acquired. Of course they can. The issue is whether those assets, interests, benefits, and transactions were truthfully disclosed, properly taxed, and consistent with declared income.
Udit Singh’s new policy may be aimed at the shadow economy. But in Fiji, the shadow economy does not always wear a sulu and operate from a roadside stall. Sometimes it sits in Cabinet, signs declarations, holds shares in private companies, disposes of property to related entities, and then asks the public to believe that everything was properly declared.
Fijileaks’ position is straightforward: if FRCS expects ordinary citizens to explain their assets, then Biman Prasad must be made to explain his.
The heart of the matter is not whether assets can be lawfully acquired. Of course they can. The issue is whether those assets, interests, benefits, and transactions were truthfully disclosed, properly taxed, and consistent with declared income.
Udit Singh’s new policy may be aimed at the shadow economy. But in Fiji, the shadow economy does not always wear a sulu and operate from a roadside stall. Sometimes it sits in Cabinet, signs declarations, holds shares in private companies, disposes of property to related entities, and then asks the public to believe that everything was properly declared.
Fijileaks’ position is straightforward: if FRCS expects ordinary citizens to explain their assets, then Biman Prasad must be made to explain his.
As far back as 20 July 2025, we called on FRCS CEO Udit Singh to launch an investigation into Biman Prasad, Rajni Chand, and Sunil Chand over the sale of the Burerua Street property to their own company, Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd. To date, we have heard nothing from FRCS.
Earlier, on 16 September 2024, we also called on the then Attorney-General Graham Leung, Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga, and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to investigate the transaction, particularly given that Biman Prasad, as Minister for Finance, was also the line minister responsible for FRCS.
Instead of ordering an independent inquiry, they chose to bury their heads in the sand. Nearly two years later, the public is still waiting for answers regarding the circumstances surrounding the sale, the payment of Capital Gains Tax, and the broader financial arrangements connected to the transaction.
Earlier, on 16 September 2024, we also called on the then Attorney-General Graham Leung, Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga, and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to investigate the transaction, particularly given that Biman Prasad, as Minister for Finance, was also the line minister responsible for FRCS.
Instead of ordering an independent inquiry, they chose to bury their heads in the sand. Nearly two years later, the public is still waiting for answers regarding the circumstances surrounding the sale, the payment of Capital Gains Tax, and the broader financial arrangements connected to the transaction.
DECLARATION VERSES DEED: NFP leader BIMAN Chand Prasad listed CT11907 as His Asset. But Land Transfer, Sale Document, Reveals Joint Ownership With Wife and $550,000 Sale to Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd
The CT 11907 Trail: What the Documents Reveal About Biman Prasad, Rajni Kaushal Chand and the Burerua Street Transaction:
In politics, allegations come and go. Documents endure. For several months, questions have surrounded the sale of CT 11907, the Burerua Street property in Suva jointly owned by Biman Chand Prasad and his wife Rajni Kaushal Chand.
The transaction was never a simple property sale but part of a wider arrangement involving a company Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd linked to the vendors, the payment of Capital Gains Tax by Lotus, the discharge of a mortgage, and the acquisition allegedly of two villa units subsequently associated with Rajni Chand.
What distinguishes the CT 11907 controversy from the usual exchanges of political accusation and denial is that the debate is not built upon rumour, anonymous gossip, or partisan speculation. It is built upon a documentary trail.
The documents reproduced in the accompanying graphic above tell a story that deserves careful scrutiny.
First, there is the Pacific Valuations report prepared for ANZ Bank, which assessed the Burerua Street property at approximately $2.815 million in September 2015. Yet only months later the property was transferred to Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd for a stated consideration of $550,000.
Second, there is the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) receipt showing that Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd paid $34,600 in Capital Gains Tax in the name of Biman Chand Prasad.
Third, there are banking records showing that the ANZ mortgage over the property, amounting to $236,806.65, was discharged.
Fourth, there are sale-and-purchase agreements relating to two off-plan villa units, each priced at $150,000, producing a combined value of $300,000. Those agreements identify Rajni Kaushal Chand as the purchaser of the villa units.
Individually, each document raises questions. Collectively, they create a transaction trail that invites closer examination.
The central issue is not whether a property may be sold below valuation. Such transactions occur every day. Nor is it unusual for related parties to engage in commercial dealings. Business relationships frequently intersect with family relationships.
The issue is whether the full economic substance of the transaction was reflected in the public declarations and explanations subsequently provided. The figures speak for themselves.
Taken together, these figures amount to more than $1.12 million in payments, benefits, and transfers associated with the transaction, exclusive of the valuation-to-sale-price differential of $2.265 million.
Viewed collectively, those figures raise an obvious question: what was the total value exchanged between the parties?
That question has become even more relevant following FRCS Chief Executive Udit Singh's announcement that Fiji intends to introduce a more robust asset declaration regime requiring individuals to explain how significant assets were acquired.
If ordinary citizens are expected to account for their wealth, then the same principle must apply to public office holders, ministers, and political leaders. The credibility of any asset declaration system depends upon one simple principle: equal treatment under the law.
It cannot be one rule for the market vendor and another for the Deputy Prime Minister. It cannot be one rule for the small business owner and another for a Cabinet minister.
The purpose of the accompanying graphic is therefore not to pronounce guilt or innocence. That remains the responsibility of investigators, regulators, and, where appropriate, the courts.
Its purpose is more modest but equally important.
It is to place the key documents before the public and allow readers to judge for themselves whether the CT 11907 transaction has been satisfactorily explained.
For in any democracy, transparency begins with evidence.
And evidence begins with documents.
The transaction was never a simple property sale but part of a wider arrangement involving a company Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd linked to the vendors, the payment of Capital Gains Tax by Lotus, the discharge of a mortgage, and the acquisition allegedly of two villa units subsequently associated with Rajni Chand.
What distinguishes the CT 11907 controversy from the usual exchanges of political accusation and denial is that the debate is not built upon rumour, anonymous gossip, or partisan speculation. It is built upon a documentary trail.
The documents reproduced in the accompanying graphic above tell a story that deserves careful scrutiny.
First, there is the Pacific Valuations report prepared for ANZ Bank, which assessed the Burerua Street property at approximately $2.815 million in September 2015. Yet only months later the property was transferred to Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd for a stated consideration of $550,000.
Second, there is the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) receipt showing that Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd paid $34,600 in Capital Gains Tax in the name of Biman Chand Prasad.
Third, there are banking records showing that the ANZ mortgage over the property, amounting to $236,806.65, was discharged.
Fourth, there are sale-and-purchase agreements relating to two off-plan villa units, each priced at $150,000, producing a combined value of $300,000. Those agreements identify Rajni Kaushal Chand as the purchaser of the villa units.
Individually, each document raises questions. Collectively, they create a transaction trail that invites closer examination.
The central issue is not whether a property may be sold below valuation. Such transactions occur every day. Nor is it unusual for related parties to engage in commercial dealings. Business relationships frequently intersect with family relationships.
The issue is whether the full economic substance of the transaction was reflected in the public declarations and explanations subsequently provided. The figures speak for themselves.
- A property valued at $2.815 million was transferred for $550,000.
- Capital Gains Tax of $34,600 was paid by the purchasing company.
- A mortgage of $236,806.65 was discharged.
- Two villa units worth $300,000 appear in the documentary record.
Taken together, these figures amount to more than $1.12 million in payments, benefits, and transfers associated with the transaction, exclusive of the valuation-to-sale-price differential of $2.265 million.
Viewed collectively, those figures raise an obvious question: what was the total value exchanged between the parties?
That question has become even more relevant following FRCS Chief Executive Udit Singh's announcement that Fiji intends to introduce a more robust asset declaration regime requiring individuals to explain how significant assets were acquired.
If ordinary citizens are expected to account for their wealth, then the same principle must apply to public office holders, ministers, and political leaders. The credibility of any asset declaration system depends upon one simple principle: equal treatment under the law.
It cannot be one rule for the market vendor and another for the Deputy Prime Minister. It cannot be one rule for the small business owner and another for a Cabinet minister.
The purpose of the accompanying graphic is therefore not to pronounce guilt or innocence. That remains the responsibility of investigators, regulators, and, where appropriate, the courts.
Its purpose is more modest but equally important.
It is to place the key documents before the public and allow readers to judge for themselves whether the CT 11907 transaction has been satisfactorily explained.
For in any democracy, transparency begins with evidence.
And evidence begins with documents.
*What happened to Biman Prasad's $296,548.30 balance from $550,000? On 4 May 2017, Rajni Kaushal Chand was transferred TWO UNITS ($150,000 each) to the sum of $300,000. Biman Prasad has not disclosed these two units in his Statutory Declarations from 2017 to 2024.
| Market Valuation of C.T. 11907 (Burerua Street, Raiwai, Suva): What the July 2015 Report Reveals About Biman Prasad, Rajni Chand, and the Proposed 14-Apartment Development The July 2015 valuation report commissioned for Certificate of Title No. 11907 at Burerua Street, Raiwai, Suva is a significant document because it captures the state of the property immediately before its eventual transfer to Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd and before the subsequent allocation of villa/apartment interests associated with the development. Prepared by Pacific Valuations Ltd for ANZ Bank, the report values the property on the assumption that a proposed four-level apartment complex comprising fourteen apartments would be completed in accordance with approved plans. The report was addressed to ANZ and signed by registered valuer Vinod Bala. |  |
The Property Was Registered in the Names of Biman Prasad and Rajni Chand
The report expressly identifies the registered proprietors as: "Biman Chand Prasad aka Biman Chand (Mr Puran aka Puran Mal) and Rajni Kaushal Chand (Mrs Ram Sewak)"
The valuation was therefore undertaken on the basis that Biman Prasad and Rajni Chand were the owners of the property.
This is important because later transactions involving Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd, a company jointly controlled by Biman Prasad and Sunil Chand, involved this same property.
The July 2015 Pacific Valuations report is a potentially important evidential document. It shows that Biman Prasad and Rajni Chand owned CT 11907, that the property was intended to be redeveloped into a fourteen-unit apartment complex, and that the completed project was expected to be worth approximately $2.815 million while generating $266,400 annually in rental income.
In the broader debate over declarations, Lotus Construction, and the later allocation of apartment or villa interests, the report provides an independent professional valuation prepared before the key transactions occurred. For that reason alone, it is likely to be regarded as one of the more significant contemporaneous documents in reconstructing the chronology and economic substance of the Burerua Street development.
The report expressly identifies the registered proprietors as: "Biman Chand Prasad aka Biman Chand (Mr Puran aka Puran Mal) and Rajni Kaushal Chand (Mrs Ram Sewak)"
The valuation was therefore undertaken on the basis that Biman Prasad and Rajni Chand were the owners of the property.
This is important because later transactions involving Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd, a company jointly controlled by Biman Prasad and Sunil Chand, involved this same property.
The July 2015 Pacific Valuations report is a potentially important evidential document. It shows that Biman Prasad and Rajni Chand owned CT 11907, that the property was intended to be redeveloped into a fourteen-unit apartment complex, and that the completed project was expected to be worth approximately $2.815 million while generating $266,400 annually in rental income.
In the broader debate over declarations, Lotus Construction, and the later allocation of apartment or villa interests, the report provides an independent professional valuation prepared before the key transactions occurred. For that reason alone, it is likely to be regarded as one of the more significant contemporaneous documents in reconstructing the chronology and economic substance of the Burerua Street development.
*Who was legally liable for the CGT? Who actually paid it? Did Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd confer a private benefit on one of its directors/shareholders by paying that liability?
*Was that benefit disclosed in statutory declarations?
* Under Fiji's CGT regime, the taxpayer disposing of the property is generally the person liable for the tax arising from the disposal.
*The CGT legislation treats the tax as attaching to the gain made by the seller, not the purchaser.
Defence Minister and National Federation Party Cabinet Minister Pio Tikoduadua has challenged party members to focus on strengthening the NFP’s public image and relevance as Fiji moves closer to the next general election.
Speaking at the NFP Working Committee meeting in Rakiraki on Saturday, Mr Tikoduadua said the party needed to look beyond its own internal assessments and consider how it was viewed by the wider public.
“But let me challenge us today,” he told party members, noting that the period leading into the election would place greater demands on the party’s communication and engagement efforts.
Mr Tikoduadua said while NFP members may have a clear understanding of the party’s values and achievements, the more important question was whether ordinary Fijians shared the same perception.
“We know ourselves and we know what we stand for, but what do the people think about us?” he asked.
He said the party needed to honestly assess its standing among voters and determine whether its foundations, policies and principles continued to resonate with the wider population.
“How relevant are we today?” he questioned.
Mr Tikoduadua stressed that political success would depend not only on the party’s record in government but also on its ability to communicate effectively with voters and remain connected to their concerns.
He urged members to focus on developing the image and competency of the NFP so that it remained a credible and relevant political force.
“The best way forward from here is to develop the image and the competency of the NFP so that it is relevant,” he said.
Mr Tikoduadua told party supporters that internal meetings and discussions were important, but they must ultimately translate into stronger engagement with communities and the public.
“It is good for us to meet among ourselves, but we must ensure that what we stand for reaches the people and remains relevant to them,” he said.
His comments come as political parties across the country begin preparing for the 2026 General Election, with voter engagement, policy delivery and public perception expected to play a major role in shaping the electoral landscape. Source: Fiji Times
Speaking at the NFP Working Committee meeting in Rakiraki on Saturday, Mr Tikoduadua said the party needed to look beyond its own internal assessments and consider how it was viewed by the wider public.
“But let me challenge us today,” he told party members, noting that the period leading into the election would place greater demands on the party’s communication and engagement efforts.
Mr Tikoduadua said while NFP members may have a clear understanding of the party’s values and achievements, the more important question was whether ordinary Fijians shared the same perception.
“We know ourselves and we know what we stand for, but what do the people think about us?” he asked.
He said the party needed to honestly assess its standing among voters and determine whether its foundations, policies and principles continued to resonate with the wider population.
“How relevant are we today?” he questioned.
Mr Tikoduadua stressed that political success would depend not only on the party’s record in government but also on its ability to communicate effectively with voters and remain connected to their concerns.
He urged members to focus on developing the image and competency of the NFP so that it remained a credible and relevant political force.
“The best way forward from here is to develop the image and the competency of the NFP so that it is relevant,” he said.
Mr Tikoduadua told party supporters that internal meetings and discussions were important, but they must ultimately translate into stronger engagement with communities and the public.
“It is good for us to meet among ourselves, but we must ensure that what we stand for reaches the people and remains relevant to them,” he said.
His comments come as political parties across the country begin preparing for the 2026 General Election, with voter engagement, policy delivery and public perception expected to play a major role in shaping the electoral landscape. Source: Fiji Times
