THE director of One Link Pacifica Gerrad Tauohu who faces numerous false pretences is again seeking bail in the Honiara Magistrate’s Court.
The bail application will be made on his behalf by his new lawyer Ronald Dive of Ron Law on Wednesday next week.
Tauohu was previously represented by private lawyer Rodgers Tovosia.
This would be his fourth attempt to apply for bail since he was remanded last April following his arrest in Malaita.
Dive’s proposal to get the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)’s consent for strict bail conditions to release his client on bail had been refused.
As a result of this, Dive will be making a bail application for his client.
The hearing of the bail application will be made in court next Wednesday.
Dive had previously told the court that the reason his client wants bail is due to the Covid-19 restrictions put in place at the Correctional facility at Rove.
He said due to the restrictions lawyers are not allowed to visit their clients at the Rove Correctional Center and the only avenue to contacting clients is through telephone.
Dive added that given the nature of the charges of false pretence charges, it requires a lot of documents that he needs to show his client in order for his client to understand and to enter his pleas.
Tauohu is facing 38 counts of false pretense and one count of operating an unlicensed Financial Institution.
This is in relation to the complaints from five mentors involving more than $461,000 between December 2019 and February 2020.
The money belongs to One Link customers.
One Link customers were advised through the mentors by One Link directors to invest in the scheme and that they will be paid triple the amount they pay in a month’s time.
Tauohu, however, allegedly failed to repay One Link’s customers their money with its interest and escaped to Malaita.
Police arrested him and charged him after receiving complaints from the scheme’s mentors and customers who are yet to receive their money.
One link Pacifica customers had allegedly invested more than $56M in the scheme but police had only managed to recover $336,891.20.
However, that $336, 891.20 which was kept in the police exhibit facility at Rove Police Headquarters went missing last October.
A Police officer looking after that exhibit facility is now on suspension awaiting the outcome of the Police’s Professional Standards Internal Investigation (PSII).
Public Prosecutor Jonathan Auga is prosecuting Tauohu’s matter.
By ASSUMPTA BONGIDANI
Honiara, Newsroom
