PNG fraud squad probe of PM back on

Transcript

The Papua New Guinea police fraud squad appears to be a step closer to arresting the prime minister over an alleged fraud case after a supreme court ruling yesterday.

An arrest warrant was issued for Peter O'Neill over two years ago in relation to his role in allegedly illegal state payments of around $US30 million to a law firm.

Both Mr O'Neill and his Finance Minister James Marape, who is also implicated, were able to effect stay orders preventing fraud officers from arresting or interviewing them.

But the Court has now discharged the orders preventing the investigation.

However, the director of the Fraud and Anti-Corruption unit, Matthew Damaru, told Johnny Blades for now they are still unable to arrest the prime minister due to another judicial review related to the warrant.

MATTHEW DAMARU: It's just that all these side issues that have got on board and which must be dealt with before we can go into substantive matters. The other case that we have now is still before the Supreme Court. There's a stay [order] preventing us from making any arrests. So unfortunately that will stop us from dealing with the prime minister but anybody else, we are now free to do our investigations.

JOHNNY BLADES: So can you arrest Minister James Marape?

MD: Yeah we can do that but... like I said, we are now free to do our investigations.

JB: Have you not already concluded your investigations into the prime minister's role, hasn't that already been concluded?

MD: Yes that's been concluded. But like I said, the warrant...we can't proceed to interviewing the prime minister right now because there's a stay order preventing us from doing so.

JB: I suppose he could always volunteer to come in for questioning, couldn't he?

MD: Ah.. yes, it's up to him, yes. It's up to him.

JB: And for yourself, and your deputy Mr [Timothy] Gitua, this has been a long process and you were kind of sidelined, weren't you, by the powers that be, over this. This [court decision] must feel like some validation for your efforts?

MD: Yeah well we've gone through our share of problems with top management and the [police] commissioner, but as far as we are concerned, we're just doing our jobs. So we have nothing to lose, we have nothing to gain, but to simply do our jobs, serving the 7.5 or however many million Papua New Guineans and their interests, and that's basically what we stood for.

JB: Do you expect you'll encounter any opposition [in resuming the case] from police commissioner Gary Baki?

MD: No, I don't think so. We have to work with him to bring this case to finality.

JB: Any idea when the stay order, the legal case over that, will reach an outcome?

MD: It's really unpredictable in PNG. When you think that it's almost over, something comes up and it goes wrong. It's dragged on and on, so it's really unpredictable here in PNG.