All eyes will be on the High Court in Suva today as Chief Justice Salesi Temo delivers judgment in the closely watched case involving former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and former Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem.
CJ Temo is scheduled to pass his ruling at 10:30am today.
The High Court matter centres on allegations that an unauthorised tax benefit was granted to Mr Saneem in mid-2022.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum faces one count of abuse of office, with the State alleging that while acting as Prime Minister, he signed a Deed of Variation authorising the Government to pay approximately $55,944 in back taxes owed by Mr Saneem.
Mr Saneem is charged with receiving a corrupt benefit, accused of seeking and obtaining the tax relief without lawful authority.
The prosecution had argued that the agreement was a so-called “replacement deed”, created with corrupt intent to bypass required constitutional oversight by the Constitutional Offices Commission and the President.
The defence, however, maintains that the payment was a legitimate reimbursement for previously withheld earnings, describing the matter as an employment issue rather than a criminal act. Defence lawyers have argued that no public funds were misused and that no constitutional provisions were breached.
