File Photo: James Hoth Mai, Minister of Labour in his office in Juba, South Sudan on June 22, 2021. Credit| Lou Nelson/Eye Radio.

The family of Minister of Labour James Hoth Mai has secured a legal victory in Australia after a court overturned the seizure of their home and vehicle in Melbourne, according to Australian media.

The family has now regained ownership of the $1.5 million property, which was originally confiscated by Victorian authorities in 2017.

The property, which was first purchased in 2014, was returned to the family after the Victoria County Court ruled in favour of the applicants on December 23.

In 2017, officers from the Australian Federal Police sought restraining orders over the five-bedroom house located in Narre Warren, as well as an Audi car. At the time, the court found that there were reasonable grounds to suspect that the assets were the proceeds of a crime.

Court documents indicate that the house and car were registered in the names of Minister James Hoth Mai’s son and daughter.

The court was also told that neither General Mai, his wife, nor their children had ever been charged with any offences in Australia or overseas.

According to the reports, the minister’s family arrived in Australia on humanitarian visas in the early 2000s.

In a brief telephone interview with Eye Radio, Minister James Hoth Mai welcomed the court’s decision, stating that the ruling finally puts an end to the allegations levelled against his family.