Court Watch: Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd co-director Sunil Chand sits with his cousin and business partner Biman Chand Prasad outside the Suva Magistrates' Court during Prasad's trial over allegations relating to Platinum Hotels & Resort Pte Ltd.
Following Fijileaks' revelations that Lotus Constructions Pty Ltd collapsed into liquidation after reportedly trading while insolvent, newly examined NSW Government records reveal that the company also accumulated an extensive compliance history, including builder's licence suspensions, disciplinary action, multiple fines and two NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal money orders.
Our earlier investigation, LotusGate: Sunil Chand, Co-Director with NFP Leader Biman Prasad in Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd, Faces Fresh Questions as His Australian Lotus Company Collapses into Liquidation, examined the company's financial collapse and the liquidator's preliminary findings.
Newly obtained records from the New South Wales Fair Trading public register now provide further insight into the company's regulatory history.
The register shows that Lotus Constructions Pty Ltd currently holds a suspended contractor's licence. The company, with Sunil Chand listed as its director, has held a contractor's licence since 13 February 2002.
However, the same public record reveals that the company's regulatory difficulties stretch back many years.
Among the matters recorded are disciplinary action in 2013, a suspension in 2014, further disciplinary penalties, penalty notices issued in later years, and subsequent orders of the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). The public register presently records the licence as suspended.
A Separate Story from the Liquidation
The regulatory history and the liquidation are legally distinct matters.
The licence record does not suggest that the suspension resulted from the liquidation. Indeed, the public register demonstrates that compliance issues had arisen years before the company ultimately entered liquidation.
Taken together, however, the two sets of publicly available documents provide a broader picture of the company's corporate history over an extended period.
A Familiar Name in Fiji
Sunil Chand is well known to readers of Fijileaks through our extensive investigations into Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd, where company records show he served as co-director with National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad.
Those investigations have examined the formation of the company, subsequent property transactions, corporate disclosures and related commercial dealings.
Public Record
The NSW Fair Trading register is a public regulatory record. It records administrative and disciplinary actions affecting the licence and should not be confused with findings of criminal liability.
Equally, the liquidation proceedings reported previously represent a separate legal process.
Nevertheless, both records concern the same Australian construction company operated by Sunil Chand and, viewed together, provide additional context to the corporate history of a businessman whose commercial activities have featured prominently in the LotusGate investigations.
20 Nov 2013: Disciplinary action. A$7,000 fine
6 Feb 2014: Licence suspended
9 Jul 2014: Disciplinary action. A$2,500 fine
5 Oct 2016: Penalty notice. A$500 fine
1 May 2024: Penalty notice. A$500 fine
20 Mar 2025 NCAT Money Order. A$49,720
2 May 2025: Licence suspended (current suspension shown on register)
3 Feb 2026: NCAT Money Order – A$365,740
Our earlier investigation, LotusGate: Sunil Chand, Co-Director with NFP Leader Biman Prasad in Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd, Faces Fresh Questions as His Australian Lotus Company Collapses into Liquidation, examined the company's financial collapse and the liquidator's preliminary findings.
Newly obtained records from the New South Wales Fair Trading public register now provide further insight into the company's regulatory history.
The register shows that Lotus Constructions Pty Ltd currently holds a suspended contractor's licence. The company, with Sunil Chand listed as its director, has held a contractor's licence since 13 February 2002.
However, the same public record reveals that the company's regulatory difficulties stretch back many years.
Among the matters recorded are disciplinary action in 2013, a suspension in 2014, further disciplinary penalties, penalty notices issued in later years, and subsequent orders of the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). The public register presently records the licence as suspended.
A Separate Story from the Liquidation
The regulatory history and the liquidation are legally distinct matters.
The licence record does not suggest that the suspension resulted from the liquidation. Indeed, the public register demonstrates that compliance issues had arisen years before the company ultimately entered liquidation.
Taken together, however, the two sets of publicly available documents provide a broader picture of the company's corporate history over an extended period.
A Familiar Name in Fiji
Sunil Chand is well known to readers of Fijileaks through our extensive investigations into Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd, where company records show he served as co-director with National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad.
Those investigations have examined the formation of the company, subsequent property transactions, corporate disclosures and related commercial dealings.
Public Record
The NSW Fair Trading register is a public regulatory record. It records administrative and disciplinary actions affecting the licence and should not be confused with findings of criminal liability.
Equally, the liquidation proceedings reported previously represent a separate legal process.
Nevertheless, both records concern the same Australian construction company operated by Sunil Chand and, viewed together, provide additional context to the corporate history of a businessman whose commercial activities have featured prominently in the LotusGate investigations.
20 Nov 2013: Disciplinary action. A$7,000 fine
6 Feb 2014: Licence suspended
9 Jul 2014: Disciplinary action. A$2,500 fine
5 Oct 2016: Penalty notice. A$500 fine
1 May 2024: Penalty notice. A$500 fine
20 Mar 2025 NCAT Money Order. A$49,720
2 May 2025: Licence suspended (current suspension shown on register)
3 Feb 2026: NCAT Money Order – A$365,740
