Corruption

Prosecutors said Ponta has been indicted on charges including tax evasion, money laundering, conflict of interest and making false statements while he was working as a lawyer in 2007 and 2008. At the time, Ponta was a lawmaker. He denies wrongdoing.

Prosecutors also said in a statement Monday that they temporarily froze Ponta's personal assets which include shares in a house, an apartment and several bank accounts. He sold two apartments in May for 150,000 euros ($170,000) and also sold a car.

 Maladina is seeking an interim order to put off his sentencing that is scheduled for July 15 before Deputy Chief Justice Gibbs Salika.

He went before Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia who is sitting as a single Supreme Court judge on July 6 seeking a stay against the National Court sentencing of him next Wednesday.

His application comes after the Supreme Court on Friday July 3 granted leave to Maladina to appeal his conviction on the ground that the trial judge, Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika, convicted Maladina on indirect evidence.

And leader Don Poly, also called for investigations into business transactions of Lawyers Greg Sheppard and Harvey Maladina.

"The business transactions of these two lawyers here in PNG and Australia must be investigated dating back ten years,” he told reporters.

Polye says such reports send the wrong message to the international community.

Sheppard and Maladina revealed in an interview with SBS how money is siphoned out of PNG to Australia.

Polye says investigators must be independent and from outside of PNG.