$11m in assets seized as Fiji faces money-laundering test

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions’ civil forfeiture unit seized roughly $11 million in assets linked primarily to drug syndicates, including a massive $9 million property bust.

Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga revealed the figures in Parliament yesterday, warning that Fiji’s money-laundering risk remains high and the country must act decisively to protect its financial integrity.

Mr Turaga said illicit narcotics, organised crime, tax evasion and illegal fishing were the primary drivers of illicit funds entering the country.

In 2025, the Fiji Police Force seized almost $10 million worth of proceeds of crime and unexplained wealth as authorities targeted assets linked to criminal networks involved in the illicit drug trade.

This masthead reported in May that Police had seized $435,206.43 in cash, properties valued at $9.27 million and vehicles worth $110,000 last year.

With a critical mutual evaluation by the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) due next month, Mr Turaga said the pressure was on Fiji to prove that its legal frameworks were not just on paper but effective in practice.

“The burden is on Fiji to demonstrate that it has complied with international standards. It is important that Fiji does well in the mutual evaluation. A non-favourable finding from this assessment process may result in serious negative consequences for Fiji,” he said.

He cautioned that a poor evaluation could have severe consequences.

“Serious negative consequences for Fiji include grey listing by international partners and financial institutions, crippling trade and financing opportunities.”

Mr Turaga said the result of the mutual evaluation would be relied upon by a wide range of domestic and international stakeholders, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and foreign investors.

Responding to Mr Turaga’s statement, Opposition MP Premila Kumar pointed to operational gaps between agencies responsible for dealing with financial crimes, including the Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit (FFIU), Fiji Police Force and Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS).

Domestic oversight

Ms Kumar said domestic oversight had revealed a system struggling to connect the dots, highlighting a disconnect between intelligence gathered by the FFIU and action taken by Police and FRCS.

She referred to a recent consultation with the FFIU, where she said reports from 2024 were still at the preliminary stage.

“That means people who are involved, they’ve gone. What are we looking for? How long will it take?

“There is a major gap in the reports generated and the action taken on the ground.”

Ms Kumar also raised concerns over tax crimes, saying 86 per cent of the value of suspicious transactions stemmed from tax evasion. She said FRCS reports failed to reference FFIU intelligence or outline concrete action taken against offenders.

“FRCS report does not make any reference to the suspicious transactions or the intelligence products sent by FFIU to them.

“At the end of the day, the story is that we have a body that produces intelligence report from its database, and the database is running in millions, like they have got 32 million or 37 million data stored.”

Ms Kumar called for urgent attention to be paid to the institutions, arguing that gaps in reporting and follow-up were allowing suspects in drug cases and serious financial crimes to slip through the cracks.

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