FICAC appeals Viliame Katia’s sentence

FICAC has appealed against the sentence of former Official Deputy Receiver Viliame Katia who was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in 2017 by the Suva Magistrates Court.

Katia has also counter appealed against his sentence saying that it is excessive.

Katia was convicted of three counts of abuse of office for gain, four counts of forgery, one count of embezzlement, one count of giving false information to a public servant, one count of unauthorized modification of data and one count of obtaining financial advantage involving millions of dollars.

The total amount involved was $4.1 million.

FICAC Lawyer Rashmi Aslam

FICAC lawyer Rashmi Aslam has filed three grounds of appeal which are that the magistrate failed to transfer the matter to the High Court, the Magistrate exceeded his jurisdiction and that the sentence is lenient.

Judge Justice Salesi Temo has set the matter for hearing at 12pm tomorrow.