Amber Heard Perjury investigation continues in Australia during the Depp trial

As Amber Heard’s high-profile libel trial with Johnny Depp continues, the screen star is facing another potential legal battle in Australia.

While still married to Depp, Heard faced a court battle with Australian authorities for bringing the couple’s dogs to the country in May 2015 without declaring them. The trial ended with Heard avoiding sentencing.

In an apology tape, Heard said she was “really sorry” for not declaring terriers, Pistol and Boo, when she entered Australia, which is known for its strict quarantine laws. Foreign pets must be quarantined for 10 days when they are first introduced to the country.

However, a spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (DAWE) said News week Investigations are underway on Wednesday into allegations that Heard lied under oath.

The DAWE representative said the department was continuing to investigate “allegations of perjury by Ms Heard during the 2015 court proceedings for the illegal importation of (her) two dogs into Australia.”

News week reached out to a Heard representative for comment.

Heard was accused of making a false statement on her immigration card. The Magic Mike XXL star ticked “no” to the question of importing something that should have been declared into the country.

She said it was a misunderstanding as she had speculated that her husband’s assistants had arranged for the terriers to pass into the country, where Depp was shooting. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

The perjury investigation was initially revealed in October 2021, with a DAWE rep telling E! News that “the department is trying to obtain the statements of the witnesses and once obtained, the director of public prosecution of the Commonwealth will consider whether the evidence is sufficient to justify the continuation of the matter”.

A Heard lawyer criticized the investigation, saying at the time at the outlet, “It is truly inconceivable, and we are confident that it is not true, that neither the Australian government, nor the FBI, would embrace a policy of further prosecuting and victimizing a person who has already been declared a victim of domestic violence “.

Heard pleaded guilty in court, but magistrate Bernadette Callaghan granted the plaintiff, accompanied to the Queensland hearing by Depp, a $ 1,000 one-month bail for good behavior without any recorded conviction.

He had previously avoided two illegal import charges, and Depp and Heard apologized in a video shown in court at the time. However, Depp later mocked the video while promoting one of his films in the UK in 2016.

Heard filed for divorce from Depp in 2016, and their union was officially dissolved in early 2017.

She accused Depp of domestic abuse during the divorce proceedings in 2016.

Depp lost the 2020 libel case against the British tabloid The sunwho had called the Pirates of the Caribbean the protagonist is a “wife beater”, referring to Heard’s accusations.

While Depp had repeatedly denied that he was abusive to Heard during the three-week trial in London, a judge found out. The sunClaims that the Kentucky-born actor offended Heard were “essentially true”.

The two are now back in court after Depp sues Heard for $ 50 million over a 2018 open-end that Heard wrote about. The Washington Postin which she claimed to be a survivor of domestic abuse.

Although Heard did not name Depp in the article, his lawyers said it was clear he was referring to the plaintiff. Heard is fighting back for $ 100 million for annoyance.

The trial will resume on May 16 after a week-long hiatus due to a previously scheduled engagement for Judge Penney Azcarate.