A TOTAL of $241.3 million was identified from the 448 intelligence reports that were disseminated to the law enforcement agencies for further investigation of possible tax evasion, money laundering and other serious offences.
In its 2017 annual report the FIU revealed that it had received and analysed 650 suspicious transaction reports in total.
The FIU also highlighted that there were four successful money laundering convictions, 46 border currency smuggling cases, and several successful tax evasion and predicate crime investigations in 2017.
In his report, FIU director Razim Buksh said for the same period, the FIU also provided 205 investigative assistance and 75 due diligence assistance on 836 entities and 783 individuals to law enforcement and other Government agencies relating to ongoing criminal investigations and background checks.
In a statement issued yesterday Mr Buksh said the FIU continued to effectively undertake all its functions and duties in 2017, as required under the FTR Act, and this was possible through the tremendous support and contributions of the agency staff, law enforcement and regulatory partners, and the financial institutions and businesses covered under the FTR Act.
Mr Buksh said the FIU, with the partnership and support of key government agencies and the private sector financial institutions, continued to implement important anti-money laundering (AML) and combating financing of terrorism (CFT) initiatives during 2017.
Mr Buksh highlighted that the key role and functions of the FIU includes the following: n Ensure the safety and integrity of Fiji’s financial system from financial crimes and money laundering activities;
- Ensure that local businesses, ordinary Fijians and foreign investors are protected from illicit financial transactions and they conduct their trade and personal financial transactions in a secure environment;
- Contribute to the investigation and prosecution of fraud, corruption, tax evasion and other complex financial crimes by providing timely and credible financial intelligence and information to law enforcement authorities, such as, Fiji Police Force, FRCS and FICAC;
- Conduct background and due diligence checks on individuals and entities for the Fijian Government and statutory agencies;
- Ensure that financial institutions (including lawyers, accountants and reals estate agents) implement preventative customer due diligence measures and report suspicious and other transactions to the FIU; n Ensure that Fiji complies with international requirements on AML and CFT; and
- Contribute to national and inter-agency coordination and international networking, particularly on transnational crimes such as human and drug trafficking cases, currency smuggling and cyber fraud.
The report was tabled in Parliament on Monday by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
