A senior Vanuatu government official has been sentenced in the Supreme Court in Brisbane to five and a half-years in jail for his involvement in a four-million US dollar tax fraud.
The Brisbane Times says Clarence Lawry Marae pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the Australian government.
He was arrested last year while passing through Sydney airport with Vanuatu's then prime minister, Sato Kilman.
Three Australians were convicted in 2011 and jailed for their role in the scam, which involved stripping companies of their assets so the businesses were unable to pay taxes.
The fraud occurred between 1999 and 2001, with 15 companies taking part in the scheme, which used sham loans, offshore bank accounts and companies.