Amber Heard is investigated for allegations of perjury in Australia

2022-06-30

Amber Heard’s legal troubles continue after losing defamation trial against Johnny Depp as she is investigated for allegations of PERJURY in Australia following 2015 dog-smuggling furore

Amber Heard could face another legal battle in Australia after losing her high-profile defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp earlier this month.

She is the subject of an ‘ongoing’ perjury investigation related to court proceedings stemming from her infamous visit to Queensland with Depp in 2015.

The couple, who were in the country while Depp filmed Pirates of the Caribbean 5, broke Australia’s strict quarantine and biosecurity laws by failing to declare their Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, after flying in from the U.S.

The Aquaman actress, 36, was charged with two counts of illegally importing the animals in July that year, but the case was closed when she pleaded guilty at a Gold Coast court in April 2016 to falsifying travel documents.

Amber Heard (left) could face another legal battle in Australia after losing her defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp (right). Pictured in Toronto, Canada, on September 14, 2015

The spokesperson confirmed the case was ‘ongoing’, reports ET Canada.

At the time of her guilty plea in 2016, Heard and Depp also recorded a video apology in which she expressed remorse for her actions.

The footage was widely mocked on social media with some fans saying the couple looked like they’d been kidnapped and held to ransom.

The Aquaman actress, 36, is the subject of an ‘ongoing’ perjury investigation in Australia related to court proceedings stemming from her visit to Queensland with Depp in 2015 when the couple broke Australia’s biosecurity laws by failing to declare their Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo. (Heard and Depp are seen outside court on the Gold Coast on April 18, 2016)

Heard was charged with two counts of illegally importing the animals in July that year, but the case was closed when she pleaded guilty in April 2016 to falsifying travel documents. She and Depp also recorded a video apology (pictured) in which she expressed remorse for her actions

Heard must pay Depp US$10.35million after a Virginia court found she defamed the 59-year-old actor by describing herself as a domestic abuse victim in an opinion piece she wrote.

Judge Penney Azcarate also ordered Depp to pay Heard US$2million.

The order was a formality after the jury announced its verdict on June 1, largely siding with Depp after a sensational six-week trial in which the couple revealed lurid details of their short marriage during televised proceedings that were closely followed on social media.

The Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment said on Tuesday it was ‘investigating allegations of perjury by Ms Heard during court proceedings for the 2015 illegal importation of [her] two dogs into Australia.’ The spokesperson confirmed the case was ‘ongoing’. (Pictured: Heard outside a Fairfax, Virginia, court on May 27)

Depp sued Heard, to whom he was married from 2015 to 2017, over a December 2018 piece she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as ‘a public figure representing domestic abuse’.

The jury found in Depp’s favour on all three of his claims relating to specific statements in the 2018 piece.

The jury found Depp should receive US$10million in compensatory damages and US$5million in punitive damages, but the judge reduced the punitive damages award to US$350,000 under a state cap.

Heard faced two counts of knowingly importing a prohibited product into the country. (Pictured: the Yorkshire terriers at the centre of the incident, Pistol and Boo)

Heard has said she plans to appeal against the verdict.

At Friday’s hearing, the judge said that if Heard appeals, she must post a bond for the full amount of US$10.35million while the appeal is pending – a common practice.

The judge’s order says both awards are subject to six-per-cent interest per year.

Heard must pay Depp (pictured) US$10.35million after a U.S. court found she defamed the 59-year-old actor by describing herself as a domestic abuse victim in an opinion piece she wrote

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