MALADINA GUILTY
AFTER a 17-year wait, the final curtain is about to fall on the National Provident Fund (NPF) saga when its central player – Jimmy Maladina – was found guilty of misappropriating K2.65 million by the Waigani National Court yesterday. In a 24-page ruling, Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika likened Maladina’s crime to "money laundering" and "dishonest". He was chairman of the private sector superfund NPF in 1999 which had since changed its name to Nasfund. Maladina, from Mena’ala in Esa’ala, Milne Bay Province, was found guilty of one count of conspiring with other persons to defraud NPF by fraudulently increasing the construction costs of the NPF Tower (Deloitte Tower) in downtown Port Moresby. He was also found guilty of the second charge of dishonestly applying to his own use and of others the same amount. The conspiracy offence was committed between November 1, 1998, and October 10, 2000, while the second offence took place between Februa