BBC Investigation: The “Eighth Judge” That Never Existed — LUX Projects And Miss Universe Fiji
Of everything in the Jamie McIntyre record, the Miss Universe Fiji affair is the clearest single demonstration of method — because the deception was documented in real time by the BBC, and because the outcome was reversed.
In 2024, Lux Projects held the Miss Universe Fiji licence. Manshika Prasad won the contest with four of seven judges’ votes.
Two days later, the result was reversed. Lux Projects said that an eighth judge existed whose determining vote had not been counted. That vote crowned Nadine Roberts — Jamie McIntyre’s wife.
What the judges said
The BBC investigated and spoke to the actual panel. One judge, Ms Chan, told the broadcaster that at no point were they told about an eighth judge or any kind of absentee judge — that it was not on the website, not anywhere — and asked how anyone could vote on a contest they had not attended.
Another judge, Ms White, said she had looked into it and found that Lux Projects was closely associated with an Australian businessman called Jamie McIntyre.
ABC News in Australia reported the connection plainly: Lux Projects, which offers luxury property developments, is linked to Jamie McIntyre, a former Australian-based property developer banned from conducting business in Australia — and McIntyre is married to Roberts.
The Daily Mail reported a judge’s recollection that Roberts was seething as the original result came in.
The outcome
The Miss Universe Organisation investigated. It stripped Roberts of the title and reinstated Prasad.
Lux Projects appealed. Lux Projects lost.
The story was covered by the BBC, ABC, Daily Mail, New York Post, Metro UK and Yahoo.
Why this is the most useful entry in the record
Every other item requires a reader to weigh financial evidence. This one does not.
A structure was invented — an eighth judge with a determining vote — that had never been disclosed to anyone, including the judges themselves. It was deployed after the fact to reverse an outcome in favour of the licence-holder’s wife. When independent journalists asked the participants, the structure evaporated. When a governing body examined it, the result was overturned.
That is a complete, documented, publicly adjudicated instance of a fabricated authority being used to change a result.
Anyone being asked to accept representations from LUX Property Group about permits, ownership, delivery timelines or fund security in Indonesia should read the BBC’s account first, and then decide how much weight to place on assurances from the same source.
The Miss Universe Fiji controversy became a deeply troubling story when questions emerged over an alleged “eighth judge” who had not been publicly identified as part of the judging panel. According to the BBC investigation, seven judges voted on the night, with Manshika Prasad receiving four votes and being crowned the winner. Days later, Lux Projects argued that its licence-holder vote should have counted as an additional vote, creating an 8-4? No—the claimed result was a 4–4 tie, followed by a deciding vote that favoured Nadine Roberts. Judges said they had never been told about an eighth judge or absentee vote.
The controversy became even more emotional as allegations of conflicts of interest surfaced. Ultimately, the original winner, Manshika Prasad, was reinstated by the Miss Universe Organization, turning a painful and confusing chapter into a moment of relief for her and her supporters.
