Special Prosecutor Michael Copeland on Friday charged Remengesau with 19 counts of violation of the code of ethics for transfer of several pieces of real property during his term as President of Palau.
Copeland in a press statement issued on Friday said that the charges are the result of investigation and audit of the Ethics Disclosure Statements submitted by Remengesau for the year 2000 through 2003.Remengesau was required to submit a list of all assets and sources of income he had while he was in office.Copeland said Remengesau did not reveal his other assets and concealed several pieces of real properties which he acquired during his administration.The Special Prosecutor said that Remengesau concealed ownership and transfer of several real properties which he was legally obligated to disclose on his yearly Ethics Disclosure Statement for the year 2000-2003.Copeland said the charges covered only for the investigation conducted by his office for the year 2000-2003.He said the investigation and audit for the years 2004 up to the present are still ongoing.“Because of the length of time that has passed, Palau’s statute of limitations prevents the filing of any criminal charges other than misdemeanor violations of the Code of Ethics for the period of time from 2000-2003. Accordingly, the Office of the Special Prosecutor could not consider filing other charges for any alleged criminal misconduct that occurred prior to 2003,”Copeland’s press statement stated.The information filed in court stated that Remengesau failed to disclose in his statement that he acquired five land properties in Ngaremlengui and Ngarchelong in January, August, September and October of 2001; one property in Melekeok in December of 2002; six in Ngarchelong and Ngaremlengui in January, August, September and October of 2001 and seven in Ngarchelong, Ngaremlengui and Melekeok in January, August, September and October of 2001 and December of 2002.
