A former Ministry of Education employee has been sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to 58 corruption-related offences involving nearly $350,000.
Rahul Ravikash Kumar, who worked in the Transport Assistance Unit, was convicted by the Suva Magistrates Court for offences including money laundering, unauthorised modification of data, and obtaining financial advantage.
Prosecutors said that between April 2017 and June 2020, Kumar unlawfully accessed the ministry’s Financial Management Information System (FMIS), altering data to secure $341,981.81.
The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) charged him in April 2021, and he voluntarily pleaded guilty in July 2023.
Resident Magistrate Jeremaia Savou, in delivering the verdict, highlighted the seriousness of the offence and ruled that Kumar must serve his full sentence, with a non-parole period of five years.
The court also noted that none of the funds had been recovered, nor had Kumar made any restitution.
Kumar has been granted 28 days to appeal the ruling.
