On 30 January, Fiji Live reported that following a meeting with state lawyers on the 27th, the Finance Ministry had decided to refund the surcharge that had been deducted from the Commander's salary. On 1 February, however, the "Fiji Times" quoted Uluinaceva as saying that the ministry was awaiting further legal clarification, and would make its decision by the end of the week. On the 7th, Tuinaosara claimed to have received a letter from Uluinaceva the previous week, promising to refund the deduction, but that no payment had been made. Finance Minister Ratu Jone Kubuabola reacted by denying that the courts had, in fact, ordered the deductions to be discontinued and refunded. "There is no such order for a stop to the deductions," he claimed, "so we will continue to make deductions until a decision has been made and at this point, no decision has been made."