If Your Proof is Real, Go to the Police

The anti-Government blog  Coupfourpointfive awoke after a year-long hibernation two weeks ago with a virulent attack on its old favourite Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum, whom they accuse (for the umpteenth time)  of illegal money dealings.  Since then they have accused two other Indo-Fijians of similar illegality.

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 There are three main points of interest: Why do they only target Indo-Fijians?  How did they obtain their 'evidence' and why was it so long forthcoming?  Why publish now on only this one topic, just weeks before elections? 

And one big question: if their evidence is real, why do they not report it to the police?  They did the same before the 2014 election, accusations of illegality they did not report to the police.

They infer the A-G has been dipping his finger in the kitty in  a very big way.  Nearly US$15 million with US stockbroker Scottrade. That's nearly $32 million in Fiji dollars at today's rate of exchange, an amount that couldn't be covered from his salary or rental properties.

And their proof? Copies of what purport to be monthly statements, reprinted on the  blog,  received from a hacker or corrupt bank official.  

If they are really sure of the evidence, I challenge them to go the the police.  But before they do, I suggest they check out a few things. Just to make sure their evidence is uncontestible.

Number one. Why there is no name on any of the statements? 

Number two. Why are the transmission dates so faint and written the wrong way round?  In the U.S. the date format begins with the month followed by the day and the year (MM/DD/YYYY).The  dates shown start with the day followed by the month which is notAmerican.

No account name or account number and  barely readable transfers in un-American date order

I see also that the A-G is  supposed to have made  seven deposits each  month between January and May this year, some on consecutive days or only two days apart, with amounts varying from $700 to $65,000 and that the amounts were in American dollars. Where was he supposed to have obtained this money?

Number three. This seems strange. Why this frequency and irregularity and how on earth did he change Fijian into American dollars and transfer them without someone in Fiji knowing and leaking the information to the press -- or the police?  Even more strange is that the copied transfers appear to from hard copies. These days things are done electronically.

Number four. Even stranger is why the A-G, a financially-savy person, would have over one half of his US$15 million in cash,  a relatively safe investment but with poor returns, and why the other half he's entrusted to one management company. A wise investor would not put all his eggs in one basket.

No. Don't tell me.  You'll soon drip feed proof that he also has investments in Australia, then the UK, Japan, ... ?

Number five. Coupfourpointfive, has it occurred to you that someone may have forged these statements?   I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and presume it was not you but there are dishonest people around.  You can never be too careful about what you receive free. 

Or did you have to pay for them? That wouldn't have been cheap, especially since they  were "exclusive" for you. If this was the case, some may ask how much they cost, and where you got the money.

You say that the "Bank statements made available exclusively to Coupfourpointfive show Khaiyum has been depositing as much as $65,000 at a time (and that) in March this year, deposits totalled $100,000 plus." Your copies of the statements run from January to May. 

Number six. What happened  before and  after May? This is important because we don't know if his $32 million Fijian was recently transferred in large lump sums or incrementally since the 2006 Coup. The longer period would give a corrupt and politically-motivated Fiji bank employee more opportunities to earn some money on the side, or do you a political good turn.

Number seven. Another thing puzzles me. Scottrade stopped trading is January last year, over 18 months ago, when it was taken over by TD Ameritrade. Is it still trading under its own name over a year later?   Possible, but unusual.  

I presume you checked the validity of the documents and asked yourself why someone made them exclusive to you? This is the first thing any reputable journalist would do.

Coupfourpointfive,  there could, of course, be truth in what you write, and you could believe it the truth.

I am not  laughing at you but you've made similar accusations before  which you have never taken  to the police.  

If you think you have a strong case, this is what you should have done. And what you should do now. You'll probably say  you don't trust the Fiji judiciary but its judgements have been as much against Government as for it. 

If you don't think you have a strong case, don't you think publishing accusations like this is a little unethical?  You give the A-G  no chance to defend himself in law. Is this why you publish them on  a blog that only the converted now read?

I see from two more posting you've kept up the pressure, claiming "documents obtained by C4.5 tonight reveal Fiji First Minister Faiyaz Koya falsely declared  a  higher salary on his application for a a loan."

 Another Muslim Indo-Fijian: coincidence or are Muslims more dishonest than others or don't you like them?

Number eight. Again, a specially obtained document from an unrevealed source, in this instance relating to a case four years old, and no one reported the illegality to the police. Obtaining two sets of leaked documents in four days is quite a scoop.

And a few days later you published an attack on Electoral Commission member Kavita Raniga, among other things  for being married to someone who made donations to the governing FijiFirstparty! 

I cannot prove you wrong, but you do have a political interest. Elections are just round the corner, as they were in 2014 when you make similar accusations against Khaiyum. An honest exposer concerned with accountable governance  would go to the police.

I think your proof  ranges from the most doubtful  to the most unusual, including  the "exclusive" exchanges with your source or sources. If the source material is forged or true, your source person (or persons) is certainly acting illegally.  

Forgive me but I'm amazed at the company you keep.

As the lyric goes:

One evening in October/When I was about one-third sober/And was taking home a load with manly pride/My poor feet began to stutter/So I lay down in the gutter/And a pig came up and lay down by my side 

Then we sang "It's All Fair Weather"/And "Good Fellows Get Together"/Till a lady passing by was heard to say/ "You can tell a man who boozes/By the company he chooses" 

And the pig got up and slowly walked away.

--ACW