Finance minister convicted

Vanuatu’s Willie Jimmy stands by guilty plea in bribery case. PORT VILA – Vanuatu’s finance minister Willie Jimmy has been convicted in court on two bribery charges, for breaching the Leadership and Penal codes.

Eighteen MPs, including five ministers, have been accused of bribery, with the total amounting to 35 million vatu ($452,000).

Meanwhile, the opposition is reportedly gathering signatures to launch a no-confidence motion in parliament against prime minister Sato Kilman’s government, a development that could, once again, lead to a change in leadership.

In a hearing before Vanuatu’s supreme court last week, the finance minister pleaded guilty, a plea he stood by at Monday’s hearing.

Editor of the Vanuatu Independent, Tony Wilson, told the ABC’s Pacific Beat that the other MPs facing charges were shocked that Jimmy did not change his guilty plea from last week.

Jimmy is expected to be sentenced at the conclusion of the case, which might take up to two weeks.

“If they’re found guilty particularly of the charges of bribery on the criminal code, then the reality is that they’re looking at significant jail sentences,” Wilson said.

“And because of their position, it could be the top end, they could be looking at six to eight years in prison.”

Wilson’s Vanuatu Independent is run by a registered charity chaired by Vanuatu businessman Tom Bayer.

A charge of complicity against Bayer will be heard at the end of the bribery trial.