from pngexposed.wordpress.com


Paul Paraka steals another K30 million and then silences the investigation
April 15, 2012Leave a commentGo to comments
Paul Paraka, the lawyer at the centre of the K780 million Finance Department fraud*, has recently been paid another K30 million in suspicious circumstances.

By Sam Basil

Paul Paraka Lawyers have gone at great length to suppress the tabling of the Finance Commission of Inquiry by obtaining a Court Order in Alotau on a Saturday, which is now collecting dust in the National and Supreme Court registry. The Finance Inquiry looked into funds paid out in Court Judgements when Paul Paraka Lawyers was briefed out by the State on a retainer basis to act for the State in legal suits.

In late 2006, when Mr Bire Kimisopa was appointed as the Justice Minister, Paul Paraka Lawyers contract was terminated. Mr Paraka took the State to Court for some outstanding bills which were quantified by the Court as around K6million plus. That amount was not paid out as the State appealed the Orders of the National Court and there are some restraining orders issued by the Supreme Court which are understood to be still current.

Notwithstanding, on 17th February 2012, a Second batch of payments under the Court Judgments was paid totalling K45,585,468.73.

Among the payments made by finance department on 17 February, a staggering amount of K30million was paid to Paul Paraka through his various web of law firms:

Paul Othas Lawyers K6,000,000
Harvey Nii Lawyers K6,000,000
Sino & Company K6,000,000
Jack Kilipi Lawyers K6,000,000
PKP Nominees Ltd K6,000,000
On 20th February 2012, a letter jointly signed by Messers Melton Bogege (Financial Controller) and Yeme Kaivila (Senior Accountant) of Department of Finance was sent to Bank of South Pacific Limited stating that the payments made to the recipients enumerated above were based on the instructions of Paul Paraka Lawyers whom they claim has valid Court Orders and outstanding bills. The two officers further justified in the following terms:

“The payments were based on a valid Court Order and appropriate audit process was carried out and clearance from the Solicitor General. The Department of Finance had no right to question such authority, and facilitated the payment on the endorsement and approval of the Secretary for Finance”.

We understand there are some Supreme Court Orders in place restraining the payments to be made to Paul Paraka Lawyers.

It appears that BSP did not want to release the funds and Mr Paraka went to great lengths with numerous letters justifying the payments and even issued veil threats to BSP staff if they refuse.

Eventually, BSP appears to have released the payments as apportioned by Paul Paraka Lawyers.

A valid complaint was made by the Solicitor General’s Office to the National Fraud Squad and Task-Force Sweep to investigate this matter. When investigations commenced and a search warrant was obtained to search and obtain documents at BSP, PPL went to the District Court and filed an application to set aside the search warrant and conceal the whole thing.

We have obtained documents from the District Court Registry at Waigani which confirms that Mr Paul Paraka has filed an application to set aside the search warrants and further for a permanent restraining order to restrain any investigations into those allegations. In his affidavit in support of the application, he admits receiving those funds but for work undertaken in the past. He deposes in his affidavit that there is no stay order and relies on a number of Court orders which were superseded by a latter Supreme Court Order staying the orders and the entire proceedings of OS 876 of 2006.

Numerous visits and attempts have been made to the respective authorities who are investigating this matter to drop this case. The case officers were threatened and even intimidated. There were a number of threats on the Chairman of Task-Force Sweep, Mr Sam Koim.

Now, the intelligence information we are picking up is that these people are colluding with some police officers to fabricate and frame up some criminal charges against Mr Sam Koim to tarnish his name and further intimidate him because of his refusal to back-off when initially approached. This is dangerous and we take it very seriously. We call on the Police Commissioner whether he is aware of this and if so, can he deal with those officers who allow themselves to be manipulated by people with malicious intentions.

If Paul Paraka Lawyers was paid on a legitimate Court Order based on some purported outstanding legal fees owed by the State, why not seeking a recent legal clearance from the Solicitor General instead of going straight to finance department because Finance Department is not the authority that does the legal clearance on Court Judgements, legal bills and interests?

If the payment was legitimate, why using different law firms instead of Paul Paraka Lawyers? It makes the transactions very suspicious. These Law Firms have colluded to launder money to the benefit of Paul Paraka Lawyers. The legal firms who received the payments on behalf of Paul Paraka were not entitled to the payment yet allowed themselves as conduits to syphon public funds. This is money laundering.

If the payment is legitimate and Mr Paraka has nothing to hide, why not allowing legitimate authorities to investigate and establish the authenticity of such payments and ensure that a fraud has not been committed? Why is he filing applications to set aside search warrants which is very preliminary stage of the investigations, issuing threats and visiting the officers investigating him. He has received public funds and that is subject to public scrutiny. What has he got to hide?

The O’Neill/Namah Government had been very hard on fighting corruption and we cannot be hypocrites preaching one thing and doing the opposite. This is a very recent payment made a month ago and I strongly urge the Task-Force Sweep to get to the bottom of this. I am prepared to face it if I am implicated. The Prime Minister has also given his word on this when he announced the establishment of Task-Force Sweep.

We call on the PNG Law Society to investigate the law firms involved and immediately take some actions on this matter.

We are also calling on the Solicitor General or the Registrar of the National and Supreme Court to institute contempt proceedings against those people who orchestrated the payment in full knowledge of the existing Supreme Court Orders.

We as a Government will support Task-Force Sweep all the way. The Country is too big for any one individual person, whether in Government or opposition or any citizen of this country.

We are all very happy that he managed to get that much money. Hats off to him.

PP.............I wonder what goes thru your mind when you try to sleep at night.

I bet you are tossing and turning (demonds....laughing at you)and therefore you need valium to sleep.
Be careful, (in cash)...oophs in case, yu mistake Viagra as sleeping pills.

When yu wake up each day the "Demons" are at you again.............The Demons will not only haunt you as a "......" but will no doubt surely haunt your offsprings to their end.

In parliament, Amet said that K45 million was paid out in collusion with corrupt higher personnel of the Department of Finance. No remark made of any prosecutions even planned.

Dictator O'Neill said that K150 million was still outstanding to Paul Paraka lawyers when his regime took over. But he didn't dare say that Paul Paraka is corrupt, even though it's true. Simply made a statement, didn't say there would be any investigation, etc.

THEY'VE BEEN BOUGHT OFF!!!!!!!!!

I agree with you, he is the most filthiest lawyer ever around preying only on the government's coffer to make that much money. Never would you read or hear him defending civil cases as you know that would never generate him that much monies overnight. Back at Baiyer River people worship him as a money god. Thank you for shedding the light on this issue and for Mr. Sam Koim please stand brave and investigate this petty- fogger.

Not only is PP a petty thief of the of the order of GRAND ZEROs, but is a murderer too!!!!Oops, if my memory serves me correct, in 1986 him and bro JP were accused of murdering Daniel Tulapi's brother in law from Kairuku and dumping his body in a drain btw Luavi and the Drill Hall at UPNG.

Ahhh. Interesting. I heard Paraka had opponents beat up. Didn't know he had them murdered. I assume he was never prosecuted, right? PNG judges are easily bought off, from top to bottom.

I used to think Paraka was a brilliant lawyer by profession opening up offices in nearly all provinces of PNG ...this is very very disturbing news indeed if these allegations are true and the amount of money involved is HUGE ! .... you guys for real???

Google the name Paul Paraka. Why haven't you done so already?

It's all in the suppressed government inquiry on corruption in the Dept of Finance.

paul paraka is from hagen. im not surpised as all tycoons from that area steal and build businesses. you employ a hagen....watch out!

Watch out! Paraka is a thug - he likes to give the secret word to get his opponents beaten up, it's never traceable to him of course.

In civilised societeies they have steel industries that create wealth. In Hagen, we have STEAL industry!

Google Paul Paraka and see what his reputation is around the world.

I wonder which government will bring these pending cases and inquiries out from the dust and make these guys pay ...I understand Bire Kimisopa tired to push this and he ended up losing his seat with the same forces working to push him out - these guys have their webs in all places high and low. We can only helplessly watch for now !

Its my pray that Bire Kimisopa returns to parliament in 2012 and complete all that he has started in 2002-2007. Paraka Lawyers dubious payments one of them

PNG really need 109 Kimisopas!

The Paraka mafia will make sure he doesn't return.

Remember, in PNG, elections are neither free nor fair.

The corrupt always win, some how or another.

Why can't Paraka stand for elections himself ? If he is popular and has the money then he should have the balls to contest and see if he carve out a political career

Exactly. Then if he could get himself into the position of Minister of Finance, he could steal directly. He wouldn't have to pay that 10% 'cheque writing fee' anymore to the Secretary of Finance. The K780 million that was stolen by he and his legal cronies (according to the Dept. Finance inquiry report) would be nothing compared to what he could steal if he was the Minister of Finance.

Go, Paul, go! Steal, steal steal and don't be frightened to do it. You'lL NEVER go to prison!

The former Justice Minister, Mr Bire Kimisopa was notoriously ruthless in his efforts to take corruption head on. He investigated Paul Paraka Lawyers and established the hard facts on thisthe grand scale thieving of public funds.

in his wisdom Sir Michael Somare entrusted this young highly intelligent but eloquent rookie politician to tackle the mammoth task of fighting Paul Paraka Lawyers.

It makes me sick to note that some of our high profile politicians such as Don Polye, Arthur Somare, Paul Tienten, and Patrick Pruaitch were not given the task to investigate Paul Paraka though they loved to make grand statements about corruption infiltrating the civil service machinery. Isn't it ironical that all of them have enriched themselves at our expense.

Bire Kimisopa dealt with this "grand thief" swiftly and within law.

I am reliably informed that Mr Kimisopa completed that task. The effects were quite obvious as PPL closed offices in all major centres around PNG.

What does a learned lawyer of the calibre of Dr Allan Marat do? Bugger all nothing. I suspect that Dr Marat could be on the take too!

My hats off for Mr Kimisopa. Putting the interest of the nation ahead cost you the Goroka open seat in the 2007 national elections.

We need politicians in the class of Mr Kimisopa who will not sit back in the luxury of their office and lament the devastation of corruption but arm the agencies with legilative powers so that corruption can be weede out of our public service.

People of Goroka, the nation desperately needs Bire Kimisopa. Please make sure he returns.

Hopefully the Task Force Sweep Team brings Mr.Paraka to justice and find him guilty so they can seize all his assets in PNG and overseas. No wonder his family lives in one of the richest suburbs on the Gold Coast surrounded by luxurious items haha his daughter's birthday party was in the Gold Coast newspaper a while back saying it cost around thirty thousand haha.


Jus sayin :)

sori tru poro, task force ol close down pinis... Sam Koim givim final report to O'Nama pinis las month. Their job is done. What we need after this election is a neutral permanent anti corruption body which can investigate both sides of the government...

You idiot. Don't you understand? Very few prosecutions, nearly all of the cases will be thrown out, hardly anyone is going to go to jail.

The Sam Koim task force was an ai gris na em mas pasim ai blo yu yah!

You lunatic scum, what you seem to misunderstand is that you can't depend on the task force forever. They were set up by the O'Nama govt to serve the interests of the politicians in order to win public support until they were disbanded/stopped by those who appointed them.... Mind you no one has been prosecuted yet etc but that's the way it is in this country.. Again let me reiterate to your knuckle head that what this country needs is a permanent anti corruption body who will investigate without fear or favor!

hey ":)", dont bring the daughter or the children into this! they are inocent and have nothing to with the alleged whatever you all are talking about.. I am friends with the children and are one of the nicest people you can meet.. they are inocent so dont say **** about them..

thanks