Documents alleged to be part of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) Report into the appointment of Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) Commissioner Barbara Malimali claim that she used her position to halt investigations into political allies and manipulate cases for personal and political advantage.
The document claimed that Ms Malimali directed FICAC officials to stop work on all complaints from social media activist Alexandra Forwood and a majority of these complaints were against current Cabinet ministers and senior members of the judiciary system.
“The Col concludes that this instruction itself was arbitrary and illegal, as there is no ability in the FICAC Act to allow complaints to be ignored on the basis of the complainant being a non-taxpayer, or a non-resident,” the report said.
“The instruction to stop work on Ms Forwood’s complaints meant that work on most of the complaints against MPs (Members of Parliaments) for false declarations on income, assets, and liabilities, including against (deputy Prime Minister) Hon. Kamikamica, and Hon. Turaga, who are friends of Ms Malimali’s, was stopped. In addition, work on the cases of the S-G (Solicitor-General), Mr Green, and the CR (Chief Registrar), Mr Bainivalu had stopped.”
The alleged report also said that Ms Malimali had improperly closed a file against Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Biman Prasad, despite FICAC officials concluding there was sufficient evidence to prosecute under the Political Parties Act.
It also reports that the CoI heard that Mr Kamikamica had approached a former minister, offering to have Ms Malimali “squash” his charges.
The document further stated that Ms Malimali instructed FICAC officials to transfer her file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP), which included DPP Nancy Tikoisuva and Deputy DPP John Rabuku, who the report said were friends of Ms Malimali.
“The Col is extremely concerned that a file this important is being passed around amongst friends.
“Neither Mr Rabuku nor Ms Tikoisuva should have been handling the Malimali file.”
The inquiry recommended an independent review of all affected cases.”
