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PNG PM faces possible suspension from office over 1.2 bln USD UBS loan

Xinhua, May 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill faces a possible suspension from office outside of the current corruption investigation after the nation's public prosecutor referred him to a Leadership Tribunal over a 1.2 billion U.S. dollar loan.

Since 2014 the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Ombudsman Commission has been conducting an investigation into 1.2 billion U.S. dollar loan by Swiss-based UBS to the pacific nation so it could purchase at 10 percent stake in Australian-based oil company Oil Search Ltd.

The Ombudsman Commission and public prosecutor subsequently put PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill to a tribunal for alleged misconduct of office, however O'Neill has managed to get an order preventing it proceeding. The loan was signed by PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, after sacking his then treasurer - now opposition leader - Don Polye for refusing to make the deal.

Former PNG chief justice Sir Arnold Amet however told PNG local media on Saturday the Supreme Court is expected to deal with the suspension soon, a process believed much quicker than the current challenge to a case around O'Neill's alleged role in an authorizing fraudulent invoices.

"Once that is resolved and the tribunal is cleared to proceed, then once he appears before the tribunal he will be automatically suspended by the organic law in relation to leadership code referrals," Arnold said.

O'Neill has previously dismissed the ombudsman's investigation and referral to the tribunal as being politically motivated.

O'Neill has been under significant pressure to step aside over numerous indiscretions, most notably for continually using the courts to prevent anti-fraud police from acting on an arrest warrant obtained in 2014 for allegedly authorizing a fraudulent 31 million Australian dollar (22.28 million U.S. dollar) payment to local law firm Paul Paraka Lawyers.

O'Neill has consistently refuted the claims, saying he won't let his office be "demeaned" or questioned when "they are false allegations" made by a "vigilante style" police probe with no "evidence of financial benefit".

That hasn't stopped thousands of students in PNG 's largest cities from protesting and boycotting classes over the past month in their ongoing calls for O'Neill to step aside.

Global corruption watchers Transparency International have previously told Xinhua the past month's may be a turning point in PNG's anti-corruption campaign after O'Neill's lawyer and a senior supreme court justice were arrested for allegedly perverting the course of justice in the case against O'Neill. Endit