 | *Let’s be clear: yoga may help clear the mind and bring health benefits, but it doesn’t absolve you of accountability. Statutory declarations are legal instruments. |
*As dawn broke over Suva on International Yoga Day on 21 June, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka's Finance Minister joined the mats and mantras with serene confidence. Dressed in white t-shirt, breathing deeply, and posing alongside other yoga enthusiasts, he struck the image of a principled, peaceful leader—rooted in Indian tradition and moral clarity.
*But while Prasad was inhaling balance and exhaling peace, the truth he left off his statutory declarations remained tightly held in silence.
*But behind that placid public image is a more troubling reality: on 5 September 2024, FICAC had prepared a charge sheet to prosecute him for filing false and misleading declarations.
*Biman Prasad can roll out the mat all he wants. But until he faces the music over those false disclosures, no amount of chanting or asana will bring balance to the truth.
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*In a country where political spin is an Olympic sport, Fiji's Finance Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister BIMAN PRASAD has perfected the pose: calm on the yoga mat, contorted on paper
While Fiji's Finance Minister BIMAN PRASAD serenely rolled out his yoga mat for the cameras—projecting balance, mindfulness, and moral clarity—his statutory declarations tell a much sloppier, slipperier story.
We now know that Prasad failed to disclose key financial interests: a 5% stake in Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd, a property co-owned by his wife, off-plan apartment purchases, and what appears to be a gross undervaluation of his shares. This wasn’t a simple oversight—it was a full-scale flexibility routine, performed not on the mat, but on the edge of the law.
Let’s be clear: statutory declarations are not optional stretches. They are binding legal instruments. When the leader of Fiji's oldest political party signs off on misleading disclosures—especially to the Fiji Elections Office—it raises serious questions about trust, transparency, and whether the rule of law still applies once you’re inside the Cabinet room.
Integrity doesn’t expire. If the facts show he knowingly misled the public or regulators, that’s not ancient history—that’s a live integrity breach. So while Prasad bends gracefully in his morning yoga, it’s time the public asked: is the truth bending with him?
If accountability matters, then it’s time to stop watching the yoga, and start following the paper trail.
On 5 September 2024, FICAC had quietly rolled out its legal mat, ready to charge Sitiveni Rabuka's Finance Minister Biman Prasad. The paperwork was prepped, the evidence clear: false or misleading statutory declarations. But just as the law moved to hold Prasad accountable, the sacked FICAC Commissioner Barbara Malimali yanked the mat from underneath it.
Instead of charges, what followed was obstruction, not prosecution. FICAC officers were forced to back off. The COI concluded that Malimali was stalling, to prevent Biman Prasad from being charged by her legal officers—and it stinks of political interference.
Meanwhile, Prasad strikes a pose—literally. Calm and composed in his public yoga sessions, he preaches integrity and mindfulness. But behind that serenity is a twisted narrative of concealment, privilege, and legal evasion.
You can’t preach ethics in the morning and dodge accountability by night. The law must apply to everyone equally—whether you’re stretching on a mat or stretching the truth in official declarations.
FICAC once had the courage to act. It’s time for them—and the public—to find that courage again.
We now know that Prasad failed to disclose key financial interests: a 5% stake in Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd, a property co-owned by his wife, off-plan apartment purchases, and what appears to be a gross undervaluation of his shares. This wasn’t a simple oversight—it was a full-scale flexibility routine, performed not on the mat, but on the edge of the law.
Let’s be clear: statutory declarations are not optional stretches. They are binding legal instruments. When the leader of Fiji's oldest political party signs off on misleading disclosures—especially to the Fiji Elections Office—it raises serious questions about trust, transparency, and whether the rule of law still applies once you’re inside the Cabinet room.
Integrity doesn’t expire. If the facts show he knowingly misled the public or regulators, that’s not ancient history—that’s a live integrity breach. So while Prasad bends gracefully in his morning yoga, it’s time the public asked: is the truth bending with him?
If accountability matters, then it’s time to stop watching the yoga, and start following the paper trail.
On 5 September 2024, FICAC had quietly rolled out its legal mat, ready to charge Sitiveni Rabuka's Finance Minister Biman Prasad. The paperwork was prepped, the evidence clear: false or misleading statutory declarations. But just as the law moved to hold Prasad accountable, the sacked FICAC Commissioner Barbara Malimali yanked the mat from underneath it.
Instead of charges, what followed was obstruction, not prosecution. FICAC officers were forced to back off. The COI concluded that Malimali was stalling, to prevent Biman Prasad from being charged by her legal officers—and it stinks of political interference.
Meanwhile, Prasad strikes a pose—literally. Calm and composed in his public yoga sessions, he preaches integrity and mindfulness. But behind that serenity is a twisted narrative of concealment, privilege, and legal evasion.
You can’t preach ethics in the morning and dodge accountability by night. The law must apply to everyone equally—whether you’re stretching on a mat or stretching the truth in official declarations.
FICAC once had the courage to act. It’s time for them—and the public—to find that courage again.
  FijiFirst Party "Yogi" Minister Mahendra Reddy |  |
