Owner of Fake Medical Drug Company Arrested for Misappropriating K5 Million in PNG
Police have arrested Dr. Bomai Kerenga, director of Niugini Biomed Limited, for allegedly misappropriating K5 million in public funds allocated for Covid-19 drug research in 2022.
The National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate confirmed the arrest, stating that the money—channeled through the National Aids Council Secretariat (NACS)—was intended for scientific research and testing of a proposed Covid-19 cure. Instead, police allege the funds were spent on unrelated expenses.
Director Robert Volo said in a statement:
“The money was misapplied without spending it on the intended purpose. It was paid to a fake company owned by the named man.”
Police allege that Dr. Kerenga took advantage of the global health crisis in 2020 by registering a company under the guise of conducting medical research. The company later received K5 million from the government for drug testing efforts, but Volo said payments were instead directed to legal services, car rentals, creditors, and individuals not linked to the research.
The government’s initial support came after Prime Minister James Marape announced in November 2020 that Cabinet had approved K10.2 million for Niugini Biomed Limited. He said the move was in support of “our own scientists and doctors” in their pursuit of a Covid-19 cure.
“Based on their research, they established a hypothesis that they can find a cure for Covid-19,” Marape said at the time.
“I am not here to stop the ingenuity and brilliance of Papua New Guineans, hence we offer our support, but we will do it properly through a State-sanctioned process.”
Despite those assurances, police now say the 2022 disbursement of K5 million to Niugini Biomed was never used for its intended purpose. Instead, Dr. Kerenga allegedly instructed NACS to make payments to third parties for non-research-related activities.
Police Commissioner David Manning confirmed the arrest, noting that the case had been under investigation for some time.
“The claims made against individuals in this matter have been subject to extensive investigation by police, which revealed serious misconduct,” Manning said.
The arrest underscores growing scrutiny over how public funds were managed during the pandemic, especially those allocated to unverified medical projects. Investigations are continuing.
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