By Bernadette H. Carreon
Horizon news staff

The Special Prosecutor said that his office has no jurisdiction to conduct any investigation against government officials in connection with alleged withdrawals by the national government to the defunct Pacific Savings Bank.
Special Prosecutor Everett Walton said this in response to Sen. Joshua Koshiba’s call for an investigation that the national government reportedly made withdrawals of more than $2 million before the bank closed November of last year.
Koshiba earlier questioned the timing of the withdrawals.
"I would think that any prudent person who maintained an account at PSB certainly would withdraw funds immediately upon hearing that the bank was in danger of failing. The same reasoning applies to government officials. It seems to me that withdrawing the money was better than losing it," Walton said in his letter to Koshiba.
He said Palau ahs no laws on insider trading thus any individual who may have inside information about the PSB is free to withdraw his money.
Walton said withdrawals are "everyday occurrences which do not by themselves suggest any illegal activity, and it also is irrelevant if any officials profited unless it can be established that they had a conflict of interest."
He however said that he does not see any violation of withdrawing government funds violates the law against conflict of interests unless the funds he said were diverted from non-governmental purposes.
Walton said the concerns raised by Sen. Koshiba should be instead a subject of Senate hearings.
"The questions you raise seem to be an appropriate subject for your hearings and I hope that you will be able to obtain the answers you seek. Unfortunately, I do not believe that this office has any jurisdiction to conduct any investigation of government officials at this time," Walton said.
He added, "I do not have the probable cause to believe that any laws have been violated other than those which are the subject of legal proceedings already initiated by the Attorney General and the receiver. Of course , if you have information to the contrary, please provide it at your earliest convenience."