FijiFirst Party lied about its donations to Elections Office and Supervisor of Elections - the party received millions in donations from businessmen but ONE had his donation of $10,000 returned to him after he refused to sanction the transfer of Jaycees Park in Labasa to another donor who allegedly gave $50,000 to Khaiyum to fight election
LABASA BUSINESSMAN CHARAN JEET SINGH WAS FORCED TO QUIT PARTY AND HAD HIS DONATION RETURNED AFTER HE FILED JUDICIAL REVIEW TO PREVENT REGIME GIVING JAYCEES PARK TO HOTEL NORTHPOLE OWNER VINESH DAYAL
BY VICTOR LAL
Fijileaks Investigation Team
The Fiji First Party leader Frank Bainimarama claimed they were not willing to have businessmen as party candidates: “We have to see whether a businessman would put his business interest before the interest of the country and we do not want that."
And yet he has Nadi businessman Sanjit Patel on his party list of candidates. Patel is one of the richest Indo-Fijian businessman in the western division. But the man charged with collecting millions in donation from businessmen is civil enginner Sanjay Kaba of HL Jacob Ltd. Kaba himself has received over $10million dollars in government contracts (Momi, Natadola, Airports Fiji etc) from Aiyaz Khaiyum. In return Kaba agreed to be chairman of FFP's fund raising committee.
As mentioned earlier, FFP has understated (lied) about the amount of donations it has received to fight the election. The close-knit Gujarati community, with some of my own relatives up there, have been trying to outbid each other in donating to FFP. Bhavesh Patel of RC Manubhai recently hosted Baimanrama and Khayum in Ba where the business community raised more than a million dollars. So the declaration by FFP is understated. The party told Elections Office it received $1million in donations but figures seen by Fijileaks ex-Fiji Sun Election Team says it is over $10million.
Labasa businessman Charan Jeet Singh was one of the first businessman who publicly endorsed the formation of FijiFirst Party and was earmarked to be one of its candidates in the election. But those close to Khaiyum claimed that Singh and businessman Jim Ah Koy were seen by party general secretary Khaiyum as too powerful and potential rivals to him. He also feared the two would wean Bainimarama away from him.
But Khaiyum had to find an excuse which he did: he discovered that Singh and a few others as representatives of the Labasa Ratepayers Association had filed a judicial review in the Fiji High Court against the regime's decision to give Jaycees Park in Labasa to hotelier and FFP financier Vinesh Dayal of Hotel North Pole. Dayal has allegedly given FFP $50,000 in donation under different names. He is refusing to admit or deny to Fijileaks the allegations against him.
In fact, the former Commissioner Northern Inia Seruiratu, who is now a candidate for FFP, was instrumental in recommending this land be given to Northpole. Singh was now a marked man in Khaiyum's eyes - jealousy and 'big money' was too much a temptation to get rid of Singh. Since Singh had signed all the affidavits in the Judicial Review case, he accused Singh of opposing the regime's decision to give the land away to Dayal of Northpole.
Khaiyum still had one trump card - the applications from potential candidates for FFP. When Singh saw the first batch of FFP candidates announced, he confronted Kaba who had asked Singh for $10,000 in donation to the party. Kaba told Singh that Khaiyum had blocked Singh's application. Surprisingly, Kaba returned the $10,000 to Singh.
Singh smelled 'rat' so before Bainimarama and Khaiyum announced the second batch of candidates, Singh pulled out of the race, denying the corrupt and vindictive Khaiyum the pleasure of punishing Singh for filing the judicial review against FFP financier Dayal, the managing director of Hotel NorthPole.
That is why Khaiyum has decreed a 48 hour media blackout before Fiji goes to the polls. But Fijileaks will defy his DECREE and keep exposing this MOTHER OF ALL CROOKS IN THIS ELECTION.
Fijileaks Investigation Team
The Fiji First Party leader Frank Bainimarama claimed they were not willing to have businessmen as party candidates: “We have to see whether a businessman would put his business interest before the interest of the country and we do not want that."
And yet he has Nadi businessman Sanjit Patel on his party list of candidates. Patel is one of the richest Indo-Fijian businessman in the western division. But the man charged with collecting millions in donation from businessmen is civil enginner Sanjay Kaba of HL Jacob Ltd. Kaba himself has received over $10million dollars in government contracts (Momi, Natadola, Airports Fiji etc) from Aiyaz Khaiyum. In return Kaba agreed to be chairman of FFP's fund raising committee.
As mentioned earlier, FFP has understated (lied) about the amount of donations it has received to fight the election. The close-knit Gujarati community, with some of my own relatives up there, have been trying to outbid each other in donating to FFP. Bhavesh Patel of RC Manubhai recently hosted Baimanrama and Khayum in Ba where the business community raised more than a million dollars. So the declaration by FFP is understated. The party told Elections Office it received $1million in donations but figures seen by Fijileaks ex-Fiji Sun Election Team says it is over $10million.
Labasa businessman Charan Jeet Singh was one of the first businessman who publicly endorsed the formation of FijiFirst Party and was earmarked to be one of its candidates in the election. But those close to Khaiyum claimed that Singh and businessman Jim Ah Koy were seen by party general secretary Khaiyum as too powerful and potential rivals to him. He also feared the two would wean Bainimarama away from him.
But Khaiyum had to find an excuse which he did: he discovered that Singh and a few others as representatives of the Labasa Ratepayers Association had filed a judicial review in the Fiji High Court against the regime's decision to give Jaycees Park in Labasa to hotelier and FFP financier Vinesh Dayal of Hotel North Pole. Dayal has allegedly given FFP $50,000 in donation under different names. He is refusing to admit or deny to Fijileaks the allegations against him.
In fact, the former Commissioner Northern Inia Seruiratu, who is now a candidate for FFP, was instrumental in recommending this land be given to Northpole. Singh was now a marked man in Khaiyum's eyes - jealousy and 'big money' was too much a temptation to get rid of Singh. Since Singh had signed all the affidavits in the Judicial Review case, he accused Singh of opposing the regime's decision to give the land away to Dayal of Northpole.
Khaiyum still had one trump card - the applications from potential candidates for FFP. When Singh saw the first batch of FFP candidates announced, he confronted Kaba who had asked Singh for $10,000 in donation to the party. Kaba told Singh that Khaiyum had blocked Singh's application. Surprisingly, Kaba returned the $10,000 to Singh.
Singh smelled 'rat' so before Bainimarama and Khaiyum announced the second batch of candidates, Singh pulled out of the race, denying the corrupt and vindictive Khaiyum the pleasure of punishing Singh for filing the judicial review against FFP financier Dayal, the managing director of Hotel NorthPole.
That is why Khaiyum has decreed a 48 hour media blackout before Fiji goes to the polls. But Fijileaks will defy his DECREE and keep exposing this MOTHER OF ALL CROOKS IN THIS ELECTION.
Last contract for Fiji First fund-raisers: The $30 million new Ba Hospital project is a private-public partnership between the Ba Chamber of Commerce and Government, an initiative by the Bainimarama Government.
