*These questions go beyond politics. They concern transparency, disclosure and the documentary history of significant property transactions involving a senior political leader and his wife:
*Did Biman Chand Prasad pay the deposits required under the March 2014 agreements to buy two villas from his cousin?
*Were subsequent payments made?
*Were the contracts completed?
*Were the contractual rights assigned to another person?
*How did Rajni Chand acquire her interest in the villas?
*Were the villas connected in any way to the later Burerua transaction?
*Were all relevant interests disclosed in the statutory declarations filed over the years?
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Why Did Biman Prasad Sign Agreements for Two Lotus Units Worth $300,000, and How Did Rajni Chand Later End Up With Two Villas?
When National Federation Party leader Biman Chand Prasad recently complained that "this guy writes to my wife seeking information", he neglected to tell the public what those questions were actually about, and neither did Fiji Times' Anish Chand ask him.
The questions were not personal. They were not about his marriage. They arose from documents that place both Prasad and his wife, Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand, at the centre of a property trail stretching back more than a decade to the formation of Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd.
At the heart of the story are two villa units.
On 12 March 2014, Biman Prasad signed agreements to purchase two off-plan villas, each priced at $150,000, giving a total contractual value of $300,000.
The timing is remarkable.
The agreements were signed only three days before Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd was incorporated on 15 March 2014.
That same day Prasad became a shareholder and director of Lotus alongside his cousin and business associate Sunil Chand. He did not disclose his directorship in Lotus (Fiji) in his 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 statutory declarations.
The existence of the sale and purchase agreements is not disputed. The unanswered question is what happened next.
The Missing Documentary Trail
The agreements required deposits and staged payments. Ordinarily, a transaction involving two villas worth $300,000 would leave an extensive paper trail deposit receipts; trust account records; bank transfers; mortgage documents; settlement statements; and title or sublease records.
Yet no public evidence has emerged showing how the two March 2014 purchases were completed. That absence does not prove that no payments were made. However, it raises an obvious question: Where are the records showing how the two villas were acquired?
Enter Rajni Kaushal Chand in 2017
Years later, documents emerged linking Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand to two villas in the Lotus (Fiji) development. Sunil Chand subsequently identified Rajni Chand as being associated with two villa units. If accepted, that statement establishes that villas were ultimately allocated to or acquired by Rajni Chand.
What it does not explain is how that occurred.
Did Rajni Chand purchase the villas independently?
Did she acquire them through an assignment of rights?
Did the villas originate from the two agreements signed by her husband in March 2014?
Or was there another arrangement altogether?
The available documents do not presently answer those questions.
The Burerua Street Property Connection
The villa story becomes even more intriguing when viewed alongside the sale of the Burerua Street property to Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd.
Documents indicate that Biman Prasad and Rajni Chand sold the property to Lotus for a stated consideration of $550,000.
The transaction reportedly involved the discharge of mortgage liabilities and the payment of Capital Gains Tax.
The figures naturally attract attention.
The two villas signed for by Biman Prasad in March 2014 had a combined value of $300,000.
The two villas later associated with Rajni Chand were likewise valued at approximately $300,000.
Whether there is any connection between those transactions remains one of the central unanswered questions in the Lotus story.
Questions That Remain Outstanding
More than a decade after the original agreements were signed, several questions remain unresolved:
These questions go beyond politics. They concern transparency, disclosure and the documentary history of significant property transactions involving a senior political leader and his family.
The Central Question
For years, Fijileaks has investigated Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd, the company's ownership structure, the relationship between Biman Prasad and Sunil Chand, the Burerua property transaction, and the statutory declarations filed with the Fiji Elections Office.
Those investigations have established three facts.
First, Biman Prasad signed agreements on 12 March 2014 to purchase two off-plan villa units worth a combined $300,000.
Second, he later became a shareholder and director of Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd.
Third, Rajni Chand subsequently emerged in documents associated with two villas in the same development.
What remains missing is the documentary bridge connecting those facts.
The documents reveal where the story began. They do not yet reveal how it ended.
More than a decade after Biman Prasad signed agreements to purchase two off-plan villas worth $300,000, and years after Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand emerged in documents associated with two villas in the same Lotus development, crucial questions remain unanswered.
We therefore call upon NFP leader Biman Chand Prasad and Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand to complete the missing chapter of this story.
Did Biman Prasad complete the purchases under the March 2014 agreements?
Were the contractual rights transferred or assigned?
How did Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand acquire her interest in the two villas?
Were the villas connected in any way to the later Burerua Street transaction?
These questions can be answered by the production of the relevant sale and purchase agreements, trust account records, settlement statements, title documents, sublease records and other transaction documents.
Until then, the Lotus villa story remains unfinished.
The public has seen the opening chapter.
It is now time for Biman Chand Prasad and Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand to provide the ending.
The questions were not personal. They were not about his marriage. They arose from documents that place both Prasad and his wife, Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand, at the centre of a property trail stretching back more than a decade to the formation of Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd.
At the heart of the story are two villa units.
On 12 March 2014, Biman Prasad signed agreements to purchase two off-plan villas, each priced at $150,000, giving a total contractual value of $300,000.
The timing is remarkable.
The agreements were signed only three days before Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd was incorporated on 15 March 2014.
That same day Prasad became a shareholder and director of Lotus alongside his cousin and business associate Sunil Chand. He did not disclose his directorship in Lotus (Fiji) in his 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 statutory declarations.
The existence of the sale and purchase agreements is not disputed. The unanswered question is what happened next.
The Missing Documentary Trail
The agreements required deposits and staged payments. Ordinarily, a transaction involving two villas worth $300,000 would leave an extensive paper trail deposit receipts; trust account records; bank transfers; mortgage documents; settlement statements; and title or sublease records.
Yet no public evidence has emerged showing how the two March 2014 purchases were completed. That absence does not prove that no payments were made. However, it raises an obvious question: Where are the records showing how the two villas were acquired?
Enter Rajni Kaushal Chand in 2017
Years later, documents emerged linking Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand to two villas in the Lotus (Fiji) development. Sunil Chand subsequently identified Rajni Chand as being associated with two villa units. If accepted, that statement establishes that villas were ultimately allocated to or acquired by Rajni Chand.
What it does not explain is how that occurred.
Did Rajni Chand purchase the villas independently?
Did she acquire them through an assignment of rights?
Did the villas originate from the two agreements signed by her husband in March 2014?
Or was there another arrangement altogether?
The available documents do not presently answer those questions.
The Burerua Street Property Connection
The villa story becomes even more intriguing when viewed alongside the sale of the Burerua Street property to Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd.
Documents indicate that Biman Prasad and Rajni Chand sold the property to Lotus for a stated consideration of $550,000.
The transaction reportedly involved the discharge of mortgage liabilities and the payment of Capital Gains Tax.
The figures naturally attract attention.
The two villas signed for by Biman Prasad in March 2014 had a combined value of $300,000.
The two villas later associated with Rajni Chand were likewise valued at approximately $300,000.
Whether there is any connection between those transactions remains one of the central unanswered questions in the Lotus story.
Questions That Remain Outstanding
More than a decade after the original agreements were signed, several questions remain unresolved:
- Did Biman Prasad pay the deposits required under the March 2014 agreements?
- Were subsequent payments made?
- Were the contracts completed?
- Were the contractual rights assigned to another person?
- How did Rajni Chand acquire her interest in the villas?
- Were the villas connected in any way to the later Burerua transaction?
- Were all relevant interests disclosed in the statutory declarations filed over the years?
These questions go beyond politics. They concern transparency, disclosure and the documentary history of significant property transactions involving a senior political leader and his family.
The Central Question
For years, Fijileaks has investigated Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd, the company's ownership structure, the relationship between Biman Prasad and Sunil Chand, the Burerua property transaction, and the statutory declarations filed with the Fiji Elections Office.
Those investigations have established three facts.
First, Biman Prasad signed agreements on 12 March 2014 to purchase two off-plan villa units worth a combined $300,000.
Second, he later became a shareholder and director of Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd.
Third, Rajni Chand subsequently emerged in documents associated with two villas in the same development.
What remains missing is the documentary bridge connecting those facts.
The documents reveal where the story began. They do not yet reveal how it ended.
More than a decade after Biman Prasad signed agreements to purchase two off-plan villas worth $300,000, and years after Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand emerged in documents associated with two villas in the same Lotus development, crucial questions remain unanswered.
We therefore call upon NFP leader Biman Chand Prasad and Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand to complete the missing chapter of this story.
Did Biman Prasad complete the purchases under the March 2014 agreements?
Were the contractual rights transferred or assigned?
How did Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand acquire her interest in the two villas?
Were the villas connected in any way to the later Burerua Street transaction?
These questions can be answered by the production of the relevant sale and purchase agreements, trust account records, settlement statements, title documents, sublease records and other transaction documents.
Until then, the Lotus villa story remains unfinished.
The public has seen the opening chapter.
It is now time for Biman Chand Prasad and Dr Rajni Kaushal Chand to provide the ending.
