Former Papua Prime Minister Peter O'Neill Detained for Corruption
Former Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has been arrested and is being questioned for misappropriation and corruption, Australian public broadcaster ABC reported Sunday.
O'Neill was detained at Jackson International Airport in Port Moresbay on Saturday on his return from the Australian city of Brisbane, where he had been stranded due to confinement imposed by COVID-19, the Australian outlet detailed.
Police said the investigation surrounding the purchase of two generators from Israel for 19.9 million euros ($ 21.8 million) when O'Neill led the country.
The former prime minister announced in May 2019 his resignation after seven years in office after suffering a series of defections in his government and the threat of a confidence motion following the signing of an agreement with the French Total and the American ExxonMobil for the exploitation of a natural gas field.
Papua New Guinea, an impoverished South Pacific nation with a long history of corruption, is rich in natural resources, including large gas reserves.
The O'Neill government was accused by its political rivals of corruption and of bringing ruin to the country, inhabited by a population of about seven million people.
