Former Prime Minister Of Papua New Guinea Arrested For Corruption

Peter O’Neill, former Papua New Guinea Pime Minister, has been arrested by the police over an alleged $14 million purchase of generators from Israel without approval.

O’neil was arrested at the Port Moresby airport on Saturday after returning from Australia. He is currently being interrogated in police custody, the assistant crimes commissioner said in a statement.

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In the statement, the former prime minister was accused of directing a 50m Kina ($14m) payment for two generators from Israel without parliamentary approval, without following the country’s public financial management law and without putting the sale to tender.

It further stated evidence of abuse of office, misappropriation and official corruption although it did not give detailed information about the generators or identity of the seller.

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The former Prime Minister has however blamed the purchase of the generator on the current Prime minister, James Marape.

On Sunday, O’Neil said the generators were bought to fix “long standing”blackouts in Port Moresby and Lae and Marape, then finance minister, authorized the exemption from proper procurement processes and approving the non-tender contract.

SOURCE: AfricaCelebrities.Com