The Supreme Court will hear the 30 counts of money laundering charges against two men linked to the Vietnam saga, while the District Court will deal with the initial charges of misleading police and bribery.
James Atoa is charged with one count of misleading the police and one count of bribery. Fred Papalii is charged with two counts of misleading the police, while Nakitah Charles is charged with one count of bribery. The three appeared before Judge Papalii Rosella Papalii in the District Court on Tuesday in a packed courtroom.
The matter was called to check on submissions from the prosecution regarding the bail application made for Atoa and Papalii.
Prosecutor Paolo Paramore informed the court that the police had charged Atoa and Papalii with money laundering charges and the case, including misleading the police and bribery charges, needed to be transferred to the Supreme Court.
Judge Papalii questioned Paramore on the information about the charges, as they were not presented to the court. She said that in the interest of justice, she could not make a decision when the evidence was not presented to the court.
