Papua New Guinea has admitted making a “terrible mistake” after struggling to sell a £4.2m ($5.6m) fleet of luxury cars bought to impress politicians during a meeting of regional leaders.
The then-government boasted the Maseratis would be snapped up after being used for the 2018 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) conference.
The purchase caused a controversy, with some leaders refusing to use them.
Now the country – one of the poorest in the Pacific – will sell them at a loss.
“If we had any foresight, the Maseratis would not have been purchased in the first place,” Finance Minister Sir John Pundari told local media.
“I don’t know the reasons we went down the path of purchasing Maseratis and now we are caught up with this dilemma,” he added.
The cars will now be sold for around 400,000 kina each (around £84,000 or $114,000), around a 20% loss on the original price.
The Quattroporte sedans were bought through a dealer in Sri Lanka and flown into the country by a chartered jumbo jet. (BBC)