A PRE-TRIAL conference will be conducted next on the case of the man who allegedly defrauded the government of $7.3 million from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services.
Principal Magistrate Jim Seuika fixed 11 May for the pre-trial conference.
John Biliki, 45, of Choiseul had earlier denied the charges against him.
The charges were those of 14 counts of false pretence, 15 counts of money laundering and 15 counts of uttering.
This was in relation to the $10 million scandal in the Ministry of Health and Medical Service.
Biliki’s co-accused, a taxi driver labeled as the toy boy in this scandal, was already sentenced early last year for defrauding the government of $1.5 million.
Biliki was accused of defrauding the government of $7.3 million between 1 January 2002 and 20 September 2013.
Prosecution alleged he colluded with some public officers from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MoHMS) and then defraud the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) on 15 occasions which totalled up to $7.3 million.
Prosecution also alleged Biliki registered and operated a shipping agent called Eroba Shipping Services and allegedly assisted to set up the Joke Shipping Service, also a shipping agent intentionally to make it look legitimate to unreasonable claims of payments from SIG.
These shipping services names were allegedly being used by Biliki and his associates and some officers from the MoHMS, to get several payments from SIG covering up Health Clinic projects in and around the provinces.
The shipping services were set up to ship materials to the various projects sites in the provinces, to which were never done.
The accused and his cohorts allegedly claimed payments from the SIG with fictitious services or services that were never provided.
Part of the money was already allegedly used by the accused and his cohorts.
George Gray of the Public Solicitor’s Office is representing Biliki while the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Ronald Bei Talasasa appeared for the state.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
