One-Link Director Sentenced to 2 years imprisonment

Charles Dora gets two years jail term

The owner of One-Link Pacifica has been sentenced to 24 months (2 years) imprisonment at the Magistrates Court this morning.

Charles Dora, 47, was charged with one count of involving in an Unlicensed Financial Institution under the Financial Institution Act 1998.

The court heard that on the 4th of July 2019, the defendant registered a business name known as One Link Pacifica (OLP) at the Company Haus.

OLP was not a company incorporated under the Companies Act 2009 (No. 1 of 2009) or established abroad or a body corporate.

The defendant was the director, proprietor and sole trader of OLP.

It began operations as a banking business without license to conduct banking activities from the 4th of July 2019 till 30th March 2020 where through the course of operations, Mr. Dora had three bank accounts with Pan Oceanic Bank (POB), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and Bank South Pacific (BSP).

He took deposits and received monies from investors, who were members of the public, ranging from SBD 250 to SBD 95,750 through recruiting agents (mentors) with the promise of profit after 30 days.

The court also heard that from December 2019 to March 2020, the investors did not receive any profit as promised after 30 days.

The total amount of money received by One-Link Pacifica through the course of its operations till it ended totaled up to about SBD 56, 440, 475 ($56,000,000) and 90 percent of the total amount has not been recovered to date.

The Central Bank of Solomon Islands then filed a complaint to the Police after it was alerted of the illegal banking operations by the company.

Mr. Dora was arrested on 1st June 2021 at Russell Islands, Central Province, where he was residing at that time.

The court ordered that his sentence be backdated to the date he was first remanded in custody on June 2nd, 2021 with a right to appeal within 14 days.

By Eliza Kukutu

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