 The prosecution argued that Andrianarivo was not legitimately the Prime Minister when he withdrew the money, and that he therefore did so illegally.Andrianarivo argued that, despite Ravalomanana's nomination of Sylla as Prime Minister, he remained legally Prime Minister until he was detained on 27 May 2002, due to the absence of a decree abrogating his nomination up to that point; he said that it had been necessary to withdraw the money for the payment of wages and other administrative purposes.According to Amnesty International, the trial was "marred by irregularities".