Sir James is in the country with a delegation of investors and made the announcement of the loan from China.
“What’s unusual is that this should be a Government statement and not for an ambassador,” said Chaudhry, accoding to the Fiji Times.
He said such an announcement should be made by the Finance Ministry.
Chaudhry, who vacated office last month after the Fiji Water saga, said he could not comment on the loan until he saw the finer details.
However, he added it could not have come at a better time as rural development and squatters need to be attended to.
Sir James said questions about the financing of projects in the housing, agriculture and commercial areas were raised during a presentation by the delegation at the Fiji Trades and Investment Board.
Sir James said he never dodged questions and was not used to dealing in “mysterious ways.”
Deposed prime minister Laisenia Qarase questioned the legality of the $230m loan, saying parliamentary approval was required for such loans.
And, he said, it was ironic that the interim Government was taking a loan when it had said that it would not borrow anymore.
He said that when an elected Government comes into power, it could cancel the loan if it saw that the loan has not been utilised.
But Sir James said the repayment terms of the loan were good at an interest rate of 2 per cent over 25 years.
He said if the borrower and the lender saw that the progression of the loan terms was being met, only a “stupid finance minister would cancel the loan.”
“China is lending a hand to our development,” said Sir James.
Deposed opposition leader Mick Beddoes said China was taking a risk in giving the loan to the interim Government.
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