Tahiti phantom job compensation case deferred

7:27 pm on 25 September 2015

French Polynesia's appeal court has again deferred the civil case to compensate the public purse for expenses incurred by phantom jobs under former president Gaston Flosse.

Gaston Flosse

Gaston Flosse Photo: RNZ

18 people, including current politicians and unionists, are jointly accused of illegally receiving payments as far back as the 1990s estimated to total almost ten million US dollars.

However, the case, which was brought by the French Polynesian government, has been deferred until November the19th.

Two years ago, Flosse was convicted on criminal charges for running a vast network of phantom jobs to support his political party in what has been the biggest case of its kind in French legal history.

He was sentenced to a four-year suspended jail term, a US$170,000 fine and banned from public office for four years.

The sentence became effective a year ago when Flosse failed to secure a presidential pardon.

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