YAREN – Nauru’s justice minister David Adeang has hit back at allegations he was bribed by an Australian phosphate dealer.

Leaked emails obtained by the ABC revealed Queensland company Getax was paying kickbacks to Adeang, Nauru’s president Baron Waqa and other government MPs.

Adeang said in a statement he was “offended and speechless” about the “untrue and personal nature” of the allegations and demanded the ABC apologise.

He said it was likely he would take defamation action against the ABC and those involved in the story.

“It is unprecedented for an Australian media organisation to interfere in the domestic politics of another country,” he said.

Adeang said the ABC report was based solely on six-year-old disproved claims as well as the allegations of disgruntled former government employees.

He said the allegations had been discussed in Nauru’s parliament in 2009, when Waqa and Adeang were in opposition.

He said former president Marcus Stephen did not take up the claims.

“We were elected to clean up the corruption and cronyism of the former government, and we did just that,” Adeang said.

“Now all those people who were beneficiaries of this former corruption have now lost their money, power and influence.”

Nauru’s former president Sprent Dabwido has pointed the finger at Adeang in particular.

“One of his emails was offering to sell the whole phosphate industry to this Getax company, which is close to treason, if you ask me,” Dabwido said.

“The only national asset we have that’s worth protecting and he was offering it to be sold.”

Suspended member of the Nauru parliament Roland Kun said the bribery allegations had been known in government circles for some time.

“The information is in parliament, it has been tabled in parliament, so it is in the public domain in that regard. But it is about time that it hit international media and it is widely reported on,” Kun said.

Waqa has so far refused an interview with the ABC but has sent a text message saying the allegations were baseless and that he was not answerable to the Australian media.

The case is being investigated by the Australian Federal Police.

The Sydney Morning herald reports that the Federal Police are preparing to lay criminal charges over the allegations.

The newspaper says the allegations are likely to plunge the impoverished island nation into further turmoil and raise fresh questions about the Australian government’s ongoing payments to a nation that has detained hundreds of asylum seekers on behalf of the Australia governments.

Documents obtained under freedom-of-information laws by Fairfax Media reveal that in 2013, AFP investigators running an Operation codenamed Zurzach uncovered strong evidence that senior Nauruan politicians had been bribed by the Gold Coast-headquartered mining company, Getax.

It is understood the alleged bribery involved payments and inducements made via Asian bank accounts as part of suspected efforts by Getax to obtain political backing for its phosphate mining operations.

The Federal Police has been planning the resolution of its operation after gaining evidence of these alleged inducements, which involve some of Nauru’s most influential political figures, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The AFP, which declined to comment on the probe, has also flagged in documents that diplomatic tension is likely to erupt when charges are laid in connection to the case.

Each year, Australia gives around $25 million in aid to Nauru, making it the Pacific island’s most significant donor partner.

AFP files reveal that the probe has uncovered corrupt conduct “involving members of the” Nauru government.

Police have briefed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the federal government.

Last week, in anticipation of adverse coverage in the Australia media, the Nauru government released a statement blaming opposition MPs for spreading “lies about the country and President Baron Waqa”.

“The Waqa government has been the first administration to truly tackle cronyism and corruption that has plagued previous governments,” the statement said.

On Monday night the ABC reported that among those bribed were the president, who allegedly received $60,000 and the justice minister, David Adeang.

The revelations of the impending charges are also likely to raise fresh questions about the breakdown of the rule of law in Nauru and what impact this has on the asylum seekers on the island.

Refugee advocates have claimed Nauru cannot guarantee the safety and welfare of asylum seekers, due in part to the shaky rule of law.

Earlier this year, a damning report by Philip Moss found that women had been sexually abused on the island and

asylum seeker centre guards were trading contraband for sexual favours.

On Tuesday, an inquiry into conditions on Nauru resumed to hear from more witnesses.

Fairfax Media reported on Saturday that a former senior child-protection worker for Save the Children, Viktoria Vibhakar, had claimed children as young as two being assaulted in the asylum seeker centre.

The AFP bribery inquiry is part of a major ramping-up of the agency’s attack on firms allegedly engaging in foreign corruption. These inquiries suggest the AFP is committed to a far bolder anti-corruption regime than previously existed.

Getax, which could not be reached for comment, is just one of several firms the AFP is investigating over allegedly bribing foreign officials.

Members of the wealthy Gupta family, which is based in Queensland, India and Singapore, run Getax, and several of the firm’s directors are believed to be among those likely to be charged.