THE legal battle involving three prominent figures accused of failing to comply with statutory requirements under the 2010 Procurement Regulations will commence in 20 days.
The case of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama, former attorney-general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and former health minister Dr Neil Sharma had a final pretrial conference at the High Court in Suva today.
Justice Usaia Ratuvili was informed that the number of prosecution witnesses had been reduced from 40 to 25.
The trio face charges of abuse of office, obstructing the course of justice, and breach of trust by a person employed in the public service for alleged transactions that took place in 2011.
Assistant DPP Laisani Tabuakuro will be filing an amendment to the charge, particularly the dates of the offence. She also mentioned that there are no agreed facts, but the parties are ready for trial.
Prosecution was also led by Senior State Lawyer Pooja Mishra.
Dr Sharma is represented by Lawyer Krisheel Chang from Howards Lawyers law firm, while Mr Bainimarama and Mr Sayed-Khaiyum are represented by Lawyer Gul Fatima from RPatel Lawyers law firm.
The case has been adjourned to March 2 for Day One of the trial.
