We all know that the wheels of justice turn at a snail’s pace at the best of times but the celebrated lawyer and NFP stalwart, Richard “I have the means” Naidu, has set a new record worthy of a slug for threatening legal action for defamation and not following through.
On November 2, 2023, Naidu was full of bombast in the following letter to Grubsheet threatening to sue me in the courts of New South Wales unless I yielded to his demands for a retraction and apology over comments I had made about him on Facebook.
It still reads today like a masterclass in bluster – the one-time journalist threatening to sue another journalist for having the temerity to put him under a spotlight.
Richard Naidu threatened aggravated damages if I published his letter but I published it anyway, along with my response that he was now a public official as Chair of the Coalition’s Fiscal Review Committee and, as such, no longer had the same protection from scrutiny as a private citizen.
Our respective supporters lined up on both sides – the loathsome, oleaginous Pramesh Sharma, crowing on Facebook that I was about to get my comeuppance. And on my side, offers of support if Naidu went ahead from the doyen of the Suva bar, the estimable Devanesh Sharma, and a high-flying Sydney barrister who shall remain nameless. And with the revised NSW defamation laws of qualified privilege also on my side.
In the event, it has all come to nothing, at least so far. And in the meantime, whatever reputation Richard Naidu had to defend has been frittered away with his conduct in giving his client, Fiji Water, a seven year tax holiday, his as yet unexplained role in the Malimali affair and obtaining a delay in FICAC charging Biman Prasad and now a fresh allegation that he has offered to “keep the Fiji Times in check” so that the now charged NFP leader survives any clamour for his resignation as NFP leader.
Two years on, the “I have the means” part of his letter has also entered popular culture in Fiji to describe Richie Rich. And he remains at the centre of events as Biman Prasad’s lawyer while the NFP leader prepares to face corruption charges.
Perhaps this anniversary commemoration of his empty threat might trigger another round of bluster and I will finally get my writ. But my own lawyers and I are growing old waiting. And as well as thanking them for their support, I apologise to them for not giving them the “means” to enrich themselves at Richard Naidu’s expense.
It is also more than a year since Grubsheet sent Richard Naidu the following list of questions relating to his various activities. Needless to say, we are still to get a response.
And now a fresh allegation against Richard Naidu – that he undertook at a strategy meeting of the NFP hierarchy after Biman Prasad was charged by FICAC last Monday to “keep the Fiji Times in check”.
The significance of this is that Naidu is both the legal representative of the Fiji Tmes and Biman Prasad’s personal lawyer.
Sure enough, this was yesterday’s front page in the Fiji Times – the paper peddling the preposterous claim by the NFP’s General Secretary, Kamal Iyer, of a conspiracy to “derail the government” spearheaded by keyboard warrior Alexandra Forwood.
So to the previous list of questions, some more.
1/ Richard, what role did you play at the meeting of the NFP hierarchy to discuss tactics after Biman Prasad was charged?
2/ What is your response to the allegation that you told this meeting that you would “keep the Fiji Times in check?
3/ What role, if any, did you play in the formulation of Kamal Iyer’s statement claiming a conspiracy to “derail the government”?
4/ As the lawyer for both the Fiji Times and Biman Prasad, what role did you play in the formulation of yesterday’s front page story in relation to this alleged conspiracy?
5/ And finally, do you still intend to proceed with your threat to sue or can I finally stand down my legal and PR teams and sleep soundly free of the nightmares of being ruined? Oh, and of you in your fishnet stockings.
Hoo roo,
GD
GD, the problem for you as I see it, is Richard just has to disclose that he and his firm did not benefit in anyway from Fiji Water and as soon as he does this fully and transparently via a court of law, you are toast.
Sorry but Richard holds all the cards and can pull the trigger anytime he wants.
Oh really? So the billionaires at Fiji Water are a charity case for Munro Leys? What a naive little Timmy you are.
If he thinks he is holding all the cards, Richard Naidu can take his chances in the New South Wales courts. But you better believe it that I’m not the one who is toast.
Oh look…Timmy just crawled out from under the table – a job that Apted usually does. Richard – pull up your fishnet stockings now. Timmy…wipe your mouth.
And oh Timmy – does your asshole get jealous of the sh*t that comes out of your mouth?
Citizens are asking, Timmy. Including me, especially after the simultaneous VAT increase that is still adversely impacting the poor right across the country.
The general concern is why he is still yet “to disclose if he and his firm did not benefit in anyway from Fiji Water”. Or at least simply, publicly disclose his interest.
Isa Timmy, had the previous administration committed this corporate sin, readers would have been thoroughly entertained through his weekly Saturday Fiji Times column.
So where now is the good governance he used to advocate?
Last time I checked it not a crime to be a hypocrite or to make money. We all need to get some perspective.
Hmmm…last time I checked if you fail to declare a personal interest, offer millions in tax breaks in return for personal and corporate benefits, raise VAT on the majority and give tax breaks to your rich clients, chair the fiscal committee and make decisions which favor your corporate clients, take on government legal work in return for favors,..and the list goes on…oh and preventing FICAC from arresting and charging a minister just so that you continue to rake in benefits….all these actions and conduct can certainly be summed up as possible crimes and perverting the course of justice in the case of FICAC interference.
So Old Pecs…glad to know that you are a big fan of fishnet clad Prostitute Richard and Apted. Keep rooting them…ahem…I mean, keep rooting for them.
Weird fantasist RN’s latest dig on Facebok at Alex Forwood…former journo now porno bajaaru for highest bidder goes on ….hot tips 🤔 😕…Dick Nuniless …getting it on in desperation….Get with Komal Ear to complete your fantastic Not For People party orgy of lies, deception and porkies. NFP is burning out while these deluded super wankers cream each with exaltations about supreme fantasist leader Lamb Chops.
I don’t fully get your meaning on some of this but happy to defend your right to be incomprehensible.
Incidentally, someone has alerted me to the attack you have cited by Richard Naidu on Alex Forwood, which of course I can’t access because I am banned from Facebook.
Funny how Naidu and his NFP colleagues – plus their camp follower, Charlie Charters – are concentrating their efforts on Alex Forwood but ignore Victor Lal and Grubsheet.
Is it that they prefer to go for the low-hanging fruit – a defenceless woman? After all, Victor Lal has been leading the charge against Biman Prasad and they don’t say a word about him.
Is it misogyny or not wanting to poke sticks at hornets capable of stinging back? Because either way, it isn’t a good look.
And worst, a Ms Patricia Imrana Jalal, professing to be a feminist, also joined the pile on in comments to Richard Naidu’s post. Maybe it makes her feel good calling young activist Alex Forwood attention seeking.
Gosh, when Imrana was going by her first name Patricia, she was also attention seeking in Fiji talking about women empowerment.
This turncoat is either envious of Alex or wants to also remain relevant or has forgotten her feminist roots. Instead of supporting a courageous young woman, she is bad mouthing her….shameful.
First time Biman was about to be arrested. RICHARD “I HAVE THE MEANS” NAIDU influenced delays in due process for his client.
Second time Biman gets put on the hotspot, Richard comes in guns blazing trying to influence the public.
Clearly evident, Richard is a self serving political hack who only speaks and acts for his own benefit or those close to him.
For 3 years, this government has made mistakes upon mistakes upon mistakes costing Fijians many millions of dollars. Not a single time has Richard used his platform to advocate for better governance for Fijians.
Maybe he should have focused on educating his buddy Biman on the importance of being honest in a statutory declaration?
But its more than clear now that it’s not about the rule of law or principles of democracy. He sat next to Jon Apted during the Constitutional review by the Supreme Court and informed the court that drafters of the Fijian court didn’t want it to be amended while leaving out the fact that no amended process was created by Australia or NZ till the need arose.
Had it not been for the foreign lawyers, many Fijians would have blindly trusted this hack.
Lest not forget the tax benefits his clients received while Fijians were asked to pay more tax. Richard, though rich enough to fly anywhere, hasn’t given a rat’s ass about our hospitals or infrastructure.
Maybe his Munro Leys lawyers saw that they were on a losing case against Grubsheet. As these lawyers have to be paid for their time in handling the defamation case and they could be doing other more productive work, they decided not to take a lost case.
Unfortunately the charity waiting for the net winnings after legal fees has no reason to expect anything…just an imaginary token pawn in Richard Naidu’s hot air threats to screen his legalized thuggery and intimidation.
The ‘I have the means’ line shows Richie Rich is both dumb and arrogant. He wanted everyone to know how wealthy he was. In the process he also made everyone realize how poorly this so-called celebrated lawyer understands defamation law. He was also stupid to think he could scare off GD.
Some of his adoring followers are also suggesting that his firm Munro Leys did not benefit from the 7 year tax holiday for Fiji Water. The fact of the matter is that Fiji Water is a client of Richard Naidu law’s firm, and even if Naidu excused himself from the discussions as Fiscal Review Committee chair, there is such a thing as unstated expectations.
So it is fair to say that there was indirect pressure on the committee. And of course there were people like assistant librarian Kirti Patel on the committee. Because she had no qualifications whatsoever to be on this committee, it is rumored that she is there because of her connection to Biman. What kind of connection, don’t ask me, but she is also on other boards she’s not qualified for, thanks to Biman. On the fiscal review committee she would have agreed to everything Richard and Biman wanted — that’s why she was put there.
Yes folks, this is the change we were promised. This is why we voted for them.
It is hard to imagine any other fiscal review committee granting Fiji Water such a huge tax holiday.
But Richard Naidu in his arrogance thinks that the public are stupid. Because of his connections, Richard Naidu’s firm has also been picking up a lot of other contracts, such as the Aspen Hospital ones…this is how political networking at the higher level works.
The tax holiday and the vat increase were a betrayal of resource owners, taxpayers, and the country. On the one hand, tax for every Fiji citizen is increased and on the other hand, foreign corporations like Fiji Water get a massive tax break. And GrubSheet is not allowed to talk about it because Richie Rich has the means to sue him. See how arrogant Naidu is!
Any fool can see that VAT was increased to increase government revenue to subsidize the tax break and the salary increase of parliamentarians. To use Alex Forwood as a scapegoat and then mock her on Facebook shows what a coward Richard Naidu is.
Alex Forwood has nothing to do with the fate of Biman Prasad. It’s Biman himself and people like Richard Naidu who are to blame. It was Biman who allegedly didn’t properly declare his assets. It was Biman and Richard Naidu who worked together on the Fiji Water tax break, enabled the pay increase for members of parliament and penalizing the ordinary Fijian through vat. These two dumb asses underestimated how angry the public would be.
This is why both Biman and NFP will be consigned to the dustbin of history— because the government through Biman broke a very clear promise of not increasing their pay. NFP pretended to oppose the rise but in the end it was passed by parliament, so let’s not play theatrics here and try to pull wool over the eyes of the public or blame Alex.
Biman should just retire and disappear from the face of politics because voters can’t stand the sight of his face now that they know what a liar and what a lousy finance minister he is — the worst in Fiji’s history.
It is always easier to shoot the messenger. The half educated fanbase laps it up without questions because their ‘respected’ heros and hoes must be right.
Biman Should also be investigated for having the Aspen Medical Collaboration continue it’s operation here in Lautoka.
Richard Naidu is also the lawyer for Aspen.
Fishy deals and backdoor dealing by these two people.
Richard adores international best practices, global standards and surveys. He and his lawyer mates are often voluntary respondents to related data surveys. Why not, free global advertising for his law firm so he gets richer! Hope he is not a respondent to the Fiji Corruption Perception Index survey. Hopefully too, our 2025 scores will be known soon. And if he and those implicated in the COI are going to be CPI survey respondents, then we simply cannot trust the Index. On the spot then will be governance advocates like Transparency International Fiji.
Richard had to rely on a Kings Counsel to represent him for contempt of Court matter. Richard “I have the means” Naidu couldn’t trust his own partners and employees to fight his case for him. Nor did he have any confidence in other local lawyers.
Absolutely agree, the attack on FICAC and Alex is just a ploy to shift the drama onto someone else rather than the shit performance of this government.
National debt has increased but guess who doesn’t care anymore. That’s right, with retirement just around the corner with the millions made, I have the means Naidu is already planning to head off into the sunset?