Nauru's Foreign and Finance Minister, David Adeang, has dismissed claims that a group of Asian businessmen he has links with have been selling Nauru passports.
The allegation is one of several made by former Government MPs who are trying to oust the Scotty administration for its failure to deal with concerns it has raised about Mr Adeang.
But Mr Adeang says the rebel MPs are merely playing for control of the Government and the allegations are false.
He says the Asian businessmen concerned had become Nauruan citizens when a former President, Rene Harris, had been running the passport scheme.
"That is the extent of their involvement to my knowledge. It is alleged now that they are involved in the sale, but you should know, that we criminalised this venture - the first thing we did in Government in mid or late 2004. It is a very serious allegation that they make and I would have thought that any one in government would have made a case that proved these allegations rather than continuing to make spurious allegations as they have continued to."
