Right intelligence, people critical to fighting financial crime: RBF Governor

Having the right intelligence and people in enforcement agencies is vital to fighting evolving financial crimes, says Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor Ariff Ali.

Mr Ali made the comments while making submissions to the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs on the 2024 Annual Report of the Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit (FFIU).

He was responding to questions about whether the Financial Transactions Reporting Act 2006 was sufficient to deal with evolving financial crimes.

Standing Committee deputy chair Premila Kumar pointed out that while financial crimes had evolved, the Act had remained unchanged for 20 years.

Mr Ali said while the Act and the wider legal framework existed, having the right people to navigate the space was equally important.

“I think the key one is if we have the right intelligence, if we have the right people in the Police and DPP’s office (Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions) because these are critical spaces,” he said.

“You can say we have all this evidence but ultimately we have all these prosecuting agencies, so that to me is one of the things that we need to invest in – the Police and the ODPP’s office.”

Mr Ali said no law was cast in stone and changes could be made if needed, including giving more powers to the FFIU to address weaknesses in coordination between it and other relevant agencies.

“If it has to do with agencies not following the law, they (FFIU) have sanctions and they have done that, they have fined them. I think the real issue is the way cybercrime is done, making sure that we have the right people ultimately to prosecute them, so you may get these things but the ODPP office, whether they are able to do their part.”

Mr Ali also referred to drug cases in Fiji, saying their outcome was ultimately decided by the courts.

“When you look at the drug cases in Fiji, how long did it lead up to when the event happened and when they were charged, so it takes a very long time. There are a lot of cases that are dragged on and sometimes the witness or Police does not turn up, so these things are important.

“Yes, we can look at whether the FIU should be given more power but the final power ultimately rests with the court.”

Mr Ali said the FFIU’s key responsibilities were intelligence and regulation.