Three individuals, two of whom were civil servants have been charged by Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption in a $748,763 Ministry of Education Transport Assistance scam.
Levani Bose was employed as the Clerical Officer with the Transport Assistance Unit (TAU) and Ivamere Driu was employed as the Senior Accounts Officer of the Ministry of Education at the time of the committing the offence. The have been charged with one count each of Abuse of Office.
They are alleged to have facilitated payments to Surend Kumar, a registered transport service provider who has been charged with one count of Obtaining Financial Advantage.
Mr Kumar is alleged, between 31 January 2016 and 31 December 2020, submitted falsified and inflated Transport Assistance Summary Claim forms to the Ministry of Education, Heritage, and Arts (MEHA) and as a result of his conduct, obtained a financial advantage of $748,763.09 from the Ministry.
Levani Bose, Ivamere Driu and Surend Kumar have been ordered to report to the FICAC Office on the last Saturday of every month with effect from 30 November 2024.
