Ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase was questioned by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption today over the use of funds in the Fijian Affairs Ministry.
Qarase was taken in this morning to the FICAC office and later released.
It is understood, the interview is part of FICAC’s ongoing attempt to substantiate allegations of corruption against Qarase and his administration.
“I am very disappointed. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Qarase told fijilive after his interview.
“They interviewed me on allegations of abuse of office when I was Minister of Fijian Affairs and chairman of the Native Land Trust Board in 2003.”
Qarase explains that the board had passed regulation, which was approved by his Cabinet, aimed at widening the board’s power to invest in wider range of investment opportunities.
The funds to be invested included money set aside for extinct ‘mataqali’ and administered by the NLTB.
No comment could be obtained from FICAC at this stage.
