Kreetika Kumar 
Six people appeared at the Suva Magistrates Court yesterday, charged with allegedly colluding to raise fake tax invoices for services rendered to a shipping company, amounting to over $130,000.
They are accused of fraudulently obtaining money from the shipping company under the pretense that they were truck owners providing delivery services.
The incident occurred between February 1 and February 28, 2023.
Investigations revealed that the six individuals provided bogus tax invoices for delivery services through one of the accused, an employee of the shipping company who facilitated the payments.
It was further discovered that the accused did not own any trucks, and the vehicle numbers listed on their tax invoices belonged to their private cars.
The matter came to light following an internal investigation directed by the company’s general manager.
The first accused, a 38-year-old man, has been charged with three counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception.
The second accused, a 50-year-old man, has been charged with one count of obtaining financial advantage by deception and one count of falsification of documents.
The third and fourth accused, two women aged 25 and 39, have been charged with one count each of falsification of documents, obtaining financial advantage by deception, and possession of property believed to be proceeds of crime.
The fifth accused, a 39-year-old man, has been charged with one count of falsification of documents, one count of obtaining financial advantage by deception, and one count of possession of property believed to be proceeds of crime.
The sixth accused, a 43-year-old man, has been charged with one count of falsification of documents, one count of obtaining financial advantage by deception, and one count of possession of property believed to be proceeds of crime.
Five of the accused have been granted bail, while the sixth accused remains in remand.
The matter has been adjourned until the 10th of next month.
