Yafai found guilty

File picture of Jacob Yafai leaving the National Court earlier this year. He's accompanied by his Counsel, Edward Sasingian (Image: Supplied)

The National Court, presided by chief justice Sir Gibbs Salika has convicted former Deputy Secretary of the Finance Department, Jacob Yafai, on multiple charges related to the misappropriation of public funds.

Yafai was found guilty of misappropriating over K40 million of government money between 2012 and 2013, including abuse of office.

The court delivered its verdict after a comprehensive trial that scrutinized his role in the unlawful diversion of funds.

Yafai was charged with four counts of misappropriation, amounting to a total of more than K41.8 million.

The funds were unlawfully transferred to Paul Paraka Lawyers through unauthorized payments.

Additionally, he faced a charge of abuse of office for facilitating these transfers in breach of instructions from his superiors and neglecting procurement procedures.

During the proceedings, prosecutors argued that Yafai failed to verify the legitimacy of the claims before authorizing the payments, which led to the unlawful disbursement of millions of kina.

Yafai claimed that the payments were ordered by the then Finance Minister James Marape, but the court found that he did not exercise adequate due diligence, contributing to the misuse of public funds.

Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika emphasized that Yafai’s conduct represented a dishonest abuse of authority.

The court concluded that the evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Yafai was guilty of all five charges - four for misappropriation and one for abuse of office.

Yafai’s bail has been extended at the court’s discretion until his sentencing submissions, scheduled for September 9, 2025.