The beauty pageant that turned ugly: How Miss Universe Fiji descended into scandal amid a 'conspiracy' to steal the queen's crown

The runner-up in the Miss Universe Fiji (MUF) competition has been crowned Miss Fiji after an alleged 'serious breach of principles' had occurred during the pagaent.

Manshika Prasad, 24, was crowned Miss Fiji on August 30 after securing her title with a 4-3 vote from pageant judges. But MUF, in a statement reviewed by MailOnline, has said a 'controversial decision' by judges at the finalists' event resulted in Prasad being 'incorrectly awarded' the crown.

Officials alleged that 'correct procedures' were not followed during the pageant and that Prasad had been declared winner in a 'rigged vote' favouring a 'Fiji Indian' winner because it would financially benefit the event manager. 

MUF then revealed that runner-up Nadine Roberts - a 30-year-old model and property developer from Sydney, Australia - will compete for the Miss Universe title as Miss Fiji in Mexico in November.

Prasad has since issued a statement in which she said she was taking a break from social media and alleged that there  was 'so much the public did not know about'. Roberts also issued a statement, saying 'we are all impacted by this' and thanking MUF for its 'swift action' on the matter.

Prasad, a MBA student, was voted the majority winner of the Miss Fiji title by a panel of seven judges, including one who was a representative from Lux Property Bali, the company that bought the licence to hold the pageant, FBC News Fiji reported.

The other six judges were reportedly all independently confirmed and originally presented on the official pageant website.

But the MUF organization later said Prasad was incorrectly awarded the winner and instead proclaimed Roberts as Miss Fiji 2024.

MUF alleged the organiser had not followed correct procedures when it allegedly failed to count the licensee vote and consult them in the event of the tie.

In its statement, which was reviewed by MailOnline, MUF stated the contracted organiser, Grant Dwyer, 'wanted a Fiji Indian winner to leverage potential Global Business deals'.

The organisation alleged that Dwyer deliberately failed to count the licensee vote 'to ensure only the Fiji Indian contestant would win by the judges, against a local Fiji non Indian contestant winning'.

MUF stated that there were a total of eight votes that should have been counted, seven from the panel judges - which included a local Lux Property representative - and one from the licensee.

'The contracted organiser failed to count the licensee vote, and failed to then consult in the event of a tie, who has the determining vote to decide who is best to represent MUF at the finals in Mexico, in November later this year,' the statement continued.

'Despite concerns raised on the night by the local licensee representative that was in attendance, that the Licensee vote must be counted, and then consulted in the event of a tie, to then decide on the winner.

'The contracted organiser rushed to announce their favourite candidate as the winner on the night, creating unnecessary confusion and controversy.'

Dwyer, however, has disputed the claim, alleging Prasad was 'judged fairly' and that her crowning 'holds substance'. 

Some of the judges have also questioned the organisation's decision, claiming that Prasad was the 'clear winner' in the contest.

The panel were asked to write down the name of who they thought should be crowned Miss Fiji 2024 as the pageant came to a close on Friday, August 30.

Jennifer Chan, an US-based TV host, style and beauty expert who was one of the judges, told the BBC that she was '100 per cent confident' that Prasad was the best candidate to represent Fiji in the Miss Universe competition.

She also argued that it is 'just gross to even bring up race' in determining the competition winner and claims 'it was never, ever once uttered amongst any of the judges'.

Chan, recalling the final night of the competition, said: 'By this stage, Manshika was the clear winner. Not only based on what she presented on stage but also how she interacted with the other girls, how she photographed, how she modelled.'

But as Prasad took to the stage, wearing her sparkling tiara, after being crowned the judges could tell something was 'wrong', Chan alleges.

She recalled how Roberts, who was stood on Prasad's right in her runners-up sash, was 'seething' at the results.

Chan claims she asked her self 'how could someone feel so entitled to win?' and assumed that Roberts, a 'seasoned' pageant contestant, should know that when it comes to competitions 'you win some, you lose some'.

She also thought it was strange that on Saturday, despite Prasad taking a celebratory boat trip with the judges, there had been no official confirmation of her victory.

Additionally, judge Riri Febriani, who had represented Lux Projects, was absent from the trip.

'I remember thinking that was odd,' Melissa White, who was one of the competition judges and had shared a room with Febriani, told the broadcaster. 'But she just said she had lots of work to do and she needed to talk to her boss.' 

Febriani reportedly claimed she couldn't go on the trip because she needed rest, but White alleges she was fielding phone calls and messages from a man called 'Jamie'. 

White further alleged that 'Jamie' was actually Australian businessman Jamie McIntyre, who has been married to Roberts since 2022.

McIntyre in 2016 was banned from doing business in Australia for a decade due to his involvement in a property investment scheme that cost investors more than A$7million (£3.6million or $4.7million USD).

Despite Febriani having been a judge on the panel, Lux Projects was allegedly unhappy with the vote and two days after the crowning, in a press release, said that Dwyer had 'failed to count' the vote it should get the licensee.

The firm said it would have voted for Roberts, bringing the count to tie of 4-4. It also alleged that as the licensee it had the 'determining vote', which would make Roberts the winner of the contest.

It is also alleged that McIntyre had been on the phone during calls between Roberts and Dwyer. 

'Never at any point were we told about an eighth judge or any kind of absentee judge,' Chan told the BBC. 'It wasn't on the website, it wasn't anywhere. Besides, how can you vote on a contest if you're not even there?'

Representatives for McIntyre, in a statement to the broadcaster, claimed the allegations that he was involved in the judging controversy are 'conspiracy theory'. They did, however, admit that he had 'provided advice to the licence holder'.

'[Mr McIntyre] isn't a director or shareholder of the MUF licensee company, but has acted as an adviser, as he is a shareholder in associated companies,' the representatives added.

They further claim the allegation that Dwyer pressured the panel to declare Prasad the winner because of her race is 'undermined' by the fact that Dwyer allegedly voted for Roberts.

The mutli-million-dollar Miss Universe Organisation (MUO) operates under a franchise system, meaning a competitions must buy a licence that enables them to use the firm's branding and sell tickets to Miss Universe branded events.

The licences are expensive, so it is often hard for small countries to find a person or company willing to fund the licence for a national pageant. This expense is understood to be the reason why Fiji has not entered a Miss Universe contestant in 43 years.

The MUO did not respond to the BBC's request for comment, but the broadcaster alleges the firm is 'extremely unhappy with the events in Fiji and, after having established the facts, worked hard to reinstate Ms Prasad as the island's queen'.

MailOnline has approached MUF, the MUO, Lux Property, Prasad and Roberts for comment.