Vanuatu's Finance Minister Willie Jimmy has been formally convicted in court for breaching the Leadership and Penal Codes.
Sixteen MPs, including four cabinet ministers, have been accused of bribery.
Last week Jimmy pleaded guilty while the remaining MPs and ministers, including the acting prime minister Moana Carcasses, chose to go to trial.
The Vanuatu Daily Post reports Justice Mary Sey saying she did not convict Jimmy last week because he was not represented by a lawyer at that time.
He has now been excused from the trial.
Source:
Radio New Zealand International