Former PNG Prime Minister O’Neill Charged With Corruption: ABC
Former PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill Arrested, ABC Reports
(Bloomberg) -- Former Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has been charged with misappropriation, official corruption and abuse of office, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
O’Neill, who denies the allegations, was arrested at Jackson’s International Airport in Port Moresby on Saturday after flying back from Australia, where he’d been stranded due to the coronavirus lockdown, according to the report.
Police say the case against O’Neill relates to the purchase of two generators for more than A$20 million ($13 million) from Israel when he was leading the country. Assistant Commissioner of Crimes Hodges Ette said in a statement that O’Neill directed payments for the purchase of the generators without due consideration for procurement processes, without approval of parliament and without a tender process, the ABC reported.
O’Neill said in a statement the case was “highly politicized” and that he looked forward to his day in court so the injustice could be “corrected and exposed,” the broadcaster reported.
O’Neill resigned as prime minister in May last year after facing a potential no-confidence motion due to dissatisfaction over a recently signed natural-gas agreement with France’s Total SA, which sparked a wave of ministerial resignations.
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