Seta Ram granted bail

High Court Judge Justice Daniel Goundar has granted bail to Seta Ram who is charged with 12 counts of Obtaining Property by Deception and 1 Count of Money Laundering.

Ram has also been jointly charged with her twin sister Gita Ram with 17 counts of Trafficking in Person.

Her sister who is currently in Australia, has been charged with 5 counts of Obtaining Property by Deception and 1 count of Money Laundering in absentia.

While giving his ruling for bail, Justice Goundar says that the prosecution has serious charges against her.

However he says the hearing in the case may take time and it will be prejudiced to keep her in remand for long.

The 31-year-old woman of Nasole, Nasinu and her sister allegedly facilitated the travel of 17 Fijian citizens who were exploited through slavery and became victims of human trafficking in Auckland, New Zealand and the alleged offence took place in 2014.

The two had been operating a travel agent business from Nina Street, Suva and are alleged to have placed an advertisement in one of the newspapers about employment opportunities in New Zealand.