Papua New Guinea lawyer and businessman Paul Paraka found guilty of misappropriating government funds

A prominent Papua New Guinea lawyer and businessman has been convicted of misappropriating government funds. Photo / 123RF

By RNZ

Paul Paraka, a prominent Papua New Guinea lawyer and businessman, has been convicted of misappropriating more than US$45 million ($74m) in government funds.

According to the Post Courier, Justice Teresa Berrigan found Paraka guilty in the National Court of all five charges brought against him by the government.

“The monies were paid to PKP nominees, a property investment company wholly owned and directed by the accused or to the accounts of seven other law firms who were also named,” the newspaper reported.

In her ruling, Justice Berrigan said she was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt given Paraka’s intelligence, education and experience and the lengths taken by him to disguise the payments, made between 2007 and 2011, that he knew what he was doing was dishonest.

“The accused’s conduct was dishonest according to the standards of honest and reasonable people,” she concluded.

“Over a period of five years the accused procured another person or persons to apply to his own use and the use of others more than K$162 million [$74m] to which he was not entitled.”

Paraka, who represented himself during the trial, called the verdict “a shocker” and said he would appeal.

“There was no hard evidence from Finance Department, hard copies of payments to those law firms were not produced in evidence by the prosecution,” he said.