Magistrate Joji Boseiwaqa will not rule on the consolidation of charges against former Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and former Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem because this case is under Magistrate Yogesh Prasad.
Sayed-Khaiyum and Saneem appeared in the Suva Magistrates Court this afternoon.
Sayed-Khaiyum is charged with one count of abuse of office.
His charge relates to a report lodged by the Supervisor of Elections, Ana Mataiciwa.
It is alleged that Sayed-Khaiyum between June 30th and July 12th in 2022, while being the Acting Prime Minister, signed a Deed of Variation and Addendum between the Government and the then Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem.
It is alleged the approval for the government to pay the taxes of Saneem was done without the proper approval of the Constitutional Offices Commission and the President.
Saneem is charged with one count of Receiving a Corrupt Benefit.
It is alleged that between the 1st of June 2022 and the 31st of July 2022, while being employed as the Supervisor of Elections, Saneem without lawful authority and reasonable excuse, asked for, and obtained a benefit for himself, that is, the approval and payment of deductible tax relief of more than $50,000 on his back pay from a senior Government official.
The matter will be called again next Tuesday.
