Fiji's suspended chief prosecutor, New Zealander Christopher Pryde Photo: Christopher Pryde
Fiji's top prosecutor claims moves to extradite him on corruption charges are designed to intimidate and get rid of him.
Christopher Pryde, who is in self-imposed exile in Aotearoa, claims charges brought by the country's anti-corruption agency this week are bogus.
He believes the Fijian government wants to stop him prosecuting those maligned in a Commission of Inquiry report into the former head of the agency.
On Tuesday, the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) announced it had begun extradition proceedings against the 60-year-old.
FICAC'S decision came soon after President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu suspended Pryde's FJ$250,000 (approximately NZ$184,000) salary.
"These are heavy-handed tactics that are designed to intimidate me and to prevent me from coming back to Fiji and resuming my duties," Pryde said.
He is seeking a judicial review of the President's decision in the High Court in Suva.
Pryde has been charged with three counts of corruption by the Suva Magistrate's Court, namely that he allegedly:
- approved and received around NZ$102,000 without the approval of the President and the Judicial Services Commission (JSC);
- approved and received eight reimbursements for airfares for his wife and child, worth $NZ35,000, that he was not entitled to;
- was reimbursed NZ$6000 for unused air tickets by his office even though the airline had already refunded him.
He has denied any wrongdoing and told Pacific Waves the charges were politically-driven.
Neither the New Zealand High Commission in Suva nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Wellington have so far responded to his requests for support, he said.
Pryde was appointed in 2011 by the then President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, on the recommendation of the Judicial Services Commission.
The convicted former prime minister Frank Bainimarama had seized power in a military coup in 2006.
Bainmiarama returned the country to democracy in 2014 with a landslide victory in a general election.
Pryde was suspended on full pay for "misbehaviour" in April 2023, after he was seen talking to former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at a cocktail function in the capital.
Sayed-Khaiyum was under police investigation at the time but Pryde maintains he never read his file.
"There are very serious allegations that have been made in the COI report - perjury, obstruction of justice, perverting the course of justice," he said.
"Those are much more serious than simply having a conversation at a cocktail party, yet I was suspended and they were not. Clearly there's a double standard."
In April last year, he was also charged with receiving superannuation payments that had not been approved by the JSC.
Three months later the government cut off his remuneration.
"I had my salary suspended on the recommendation of the JSC, on the eve of having to defend myself in the tribunal."
"It was cut unilaterally, in breach of the law and the terms of the suspension and now they're doing it again," he said.
However, he was exonerated in January, following a week-long investigation by a Tribunal, which recommended he not be removed from his position.
Two days after he was cleared, he was hit with fresh charges, similar to those he is facing now. He claims he addressed them at the time.
A spokesperson for FICAC declined to comment on Pryde's allegations, saying the matter was "sub judice".
The government's director of information Samisoni Pareti echoed her response.
"As this matter is before our courts in Fiji, there won't be any official response to the matters Mr Pryde has raised with your organisation," he said.
The court adjourned the case until 15 September for an update on the extradition process.
