 *Did Biman Prasad sell Units 10 and 11 on to other buyers? |
 |  Suresh Chandra  |
 |  |  |
*FICAC must question Biman Prasad, and for him to explain if he revealed in his declarations the two villas he bought from off-plan on 12 March 2014, three days before Prasad and Sunil Chand registered Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd on 15 March 2014. His declarations regarding houses and land are so vague and slap-dash that only a full criminal investigation will allow us to reach the truth and reconcile his questionable declarations from 2014 to 2024.
*What is Buying Off-Plan? Buying off-plan means you agree to buy a property before the developer has finished building it. You may even agree to buy it before construction has begun.
*On 15 March 2014 Biman Prasad and Sunil Chand registered Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd. Prasad was listed as one of the two directors. The other was Sunil Chand. While Chand held 95 shares, Biman Prasad had FIVE shares.
*We now know that a year later, on 2 November 2015, on the completion of the first stage of the villas, Chand suddenly transferred 45% of his shares out of the 95 he held in Lotus (Fiji) to Biman Prasad.
*Prasad effectively became a partner - director - in the company. It can be asked if it was always the game plan to make Biman Prasad an equal partner in Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd?
*Sunil Chand boasted to the media that it had cost the company $4million to build the villas.
*Where did Prasad and Chand obtain $4million to build the Westville villas?
The Off-Plan Sale and Purchase Agreement |   |
*The Sale of Agreement was between Sunil Chand (Vendor) and the Purchaser(s). The Lot was an area of 42 square meters of land and was to be delivered to the purchaser in the form of sub-lease of native land, being the subject, however, to such encumbrances, liens and interest implied in leases under the Property Law Act of Fiji. Purchase price (exclusive of value tax) was $150,000.
*Deposit - 10% of purchase price - $15,000
*Balance of Purchase Price - 40% close up (slab, external walls and roofs).
*$60,000 and 50% on final completion (handover) - $75,000
Total: $150,000
*The contracts were signed between February-April 2014.
*Most were Indo-Fijians living in Australia, with three residing in Fiji, among them Biman Chand Prasad.
*Three days before Prasad and Chand registered Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd on 15 March 2014, Biman Prasad bought the two lots on 12 March.
*Whether he still owns the two lots only a thorough investigation by FICAC and the Supervisor of Elections will provide us the answer.
*What is clear is that we don't see him declaring the ownership of the two lots in his statutory declarations in 2014 (signed on 28 July 2014) nor in subsequent declarations including the 24 July 2024 declaration.
*On 12 March 2014 he buys two units from Sunil Chand's Off-Plan offer
*Three days later, on 15 March 2014, the two form Lotus Construction (Fiji) Ltd to build the Westville villas in Nadi.
*On 29 March 2014 BIMAN PRASAD is elected the leader of the National Federation Party, and leads the party into the 2014, 2018, and 2022 general elections (forms coalition with Sitiveni Rabuka's PAP to fight the 2022 election with the promise of Deputy PM).
*After the 2022 general election, he became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and line-manager of FRCA.
*Under the Political Parties Act 2014, Biman Prasad is required by law to truthfully and faithfully declare his assets, liabilities and income annually.
*We have called on FICAC to intervene, for his declarations from 2014-2014 are highly questionable and in breach of s24 of the Political Parties Act
*The Chief Registrar v SURESH CHANDRA, MC LAWYERS
*The practitioner (Suresh Chandra) was a Principal of MC Lawyers and Trustee of MC Lawyers Trust Account kept with Bank of Baroda. That trust account is currently frozen. The practitioner is not a holder of a valid practising certificate since 2020.
*Section 12 of Trust Accounts Act requires a trustee to submit audit reports for each financial period.
*The practitioner did not submit his audit reports for three financial periods from 2016 to 2018. He provided the Chief Registrar with four extensions from the Office of the Attorney-General to submit his pending audit reports. The extension was given pursuant to section 12 (2) of the Trust Accounts Act.
*The last extension was granted until 31 July 2020 for the practitioner to submit his three pending audit reports. After that no further extension was granted and the practitioner’s practising certificate was not renewed.
*Eventually when the Chief Registrar received the pending audit reports, an anomaly of unreconciled sum of $2.139 million trust funds was reflected in the audits reports.
THE INDEPENDENT LEGAL SERVICES COMMISSION
at SUVA. JUDGEMENT: 23 April 2023,
Justice Gihan Kulatunga, Commissioner
Conclusion
*Mr. Suresh Chandra from the inception of these proceedings did not directly accept his responsibility for the failure to maintain the Trust Account on the required minimum standard. Throughout the enquiry, he made all attempts to blame his employee Ms. Ashwini for the embezzlement of the Trust funds.
*Mr. Chandra in fact did not give evidence but remained silent. It is relevant to note that as opposed to an accused in a criminal matter, a practitioner in these disciplinary proceedings does not enjoy a right to remain silent.
*I find that the nature and gravity of the Respondent’s (Suresh Chandra's) misconduct viewed objectively calls for a severe sanction. As discussed earlier, the Respondent’s misconduct included the failure to properly supervise his staff and amongst other things, providing a large number of signed incomplete trust cheques to the employee.
*In many ways, it is this foundational and fundamental failure that led to the other matters described in the allegations. It is clear that a trust reconciliation, if properly and randomly was conducted within the two-year period would have alerted and revealed the fraudulent manipulation of the trust account balance.
*A timely discovery should have interrupted the scheme of the employee. Essentially, unsupervised staff and the failure to reconcile the trust account on a monthly basis for almost two-years provided the environment for the fraud. The Respondent is responsible through his own casual, careless and cavalier approach in managing the trust account, signing incomplete cheques and his failure to supervise.
*In the above circumstances I make the following orders.
(a) The name of the Respondent Legal Practitioner Mr. Suresh Chandra be struck from the roll of the practitioner’s held by the Chief Registrar.
(b) It is directed that the Law Firm MC Lawyers seized to operate as or engage in legal practice with immediate effect.
(c) That the Respondent Practitioner Mr. Suresh Chandra pay a fine in a sum of $500,000 to the Chief Registrar. If and when such fine is paid the Chief Registrar is hereby directed and ordered to pay the said sum to the credit of the Trust Account of MC Lawyers or to otherwise utilize the said sum to meet and settle the sums due to the clients of MC Lawyers.
(d) Pursuant to section 124 of the Legal Practitioners Act 2009, the costs payable by the Respondent towards the reasonable costs incurred by Chief Registrar is summarily assessed in the sum of $2,000.00.
(e) Both of the above sums set out above are to be paid within three months of today, that is, by 12 noon on 26th July 2023, to be paid to the Chief Registrar.
Fijileaks: We had long ago revealed MC Lawyers and Suresh Chand but he was shielded by Aiyaz Khaiyum who was then Minister for Elections and Chandra was the Electoral Commission chairperson.
*We may also recall that NFP leader BIMAN PRASAD had refused to sign a joint letter drafted by FLP, Freedom Alliance, Unity Fiji, calling for the removal of Suresh Chandra as chairperson of Electoral Commission.
*We don't know Prasad's reasoning but it is abundantly clear that Suresh Chandra was acutely aware that Biman Prasad had bought two units from the Off-Plan from Chandra's then client SUNIL CHAND on 12 March 2014.
From Fijileaks Archives
