A prominent Australian lawyer, Greg Sheppard, has been arrested by Papua New Guinea police and is facing a range of fraud charges.
Greg Sheppard (left) has worked as a lawyer in Papua New Guinea for years Photo: Post Courier
Sheppard, a principal of Young & Williams Lawyers, was arrested on Tuesday in Port Moresby.
He was charged with two counts of Misappropriation and another two counts of Money Laundering.
Police say the charges relate to Mr Sheppard's alleged involvement in the transfer of funds amounting to US$14.5 million (52 million kina) in 2018.
These funds were part of the US$75-million (K268 million) that were unlawfully withdrawn from a trust fund established to finance development projects in PNG's Western province, the Western Province People's Dividends Trust Account.
Sheppard, who is aged 65, was previously arrested and charged by PNG police in January in relation to the same criminal investigation.
At the time he was charged with two counts of Conspiracy and another two counts of False Pretense.
So far, the defendant has been charged with a total of eight offences.
Sheppard has done extensive work in PNG over recent years, recently representing the country's former Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and Opposition Leader Belden Namah among other prominent leaders.
