While the nation was gripped with the Flying Fijians v England quarter-final match at the Rugby World Cup between October 13 and 15, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka sat in his office to write a letter of assurance to the players of the Fiji team. He was undertaking to pay the $20,000 bonus per player soon after they play England at the Stade de Marseille on Sunday, October 15. And why was the Prime Minister doing so?
The audit by I.Naiveli & Co Chartered Accountants found all entitlements under the player contracts were paid out in full and in accordance with the fixed-term player contracts signed by all 43 members of the extended squad and the Rugby World Cup 2023 Flying Fijians team to France. It noted the delay in the processing of payments was largely attributed to regulatory procedures with the banks, and the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service and the provision of erroneous or incomplete bank details by the players.
“After reviewing the responses from players, attained from the direct confirmations sent to them, we can concur that the issues lay with the misinterpretation of how their payments were processed into their respective bank accounts,” states the audit report.
The government bonus
Evidence presented in the Fiji Rugby Union Special Engagement Review of Player Allowances Rugby World Cup Squad 2023, 1 July 2023 – 15 October 2023 audit report reveals the players had sent a ransom notice that they be paid the Government bonus for qualifying for the World Cup quarter-final. A bonus of $10,000 was paid in two instalments of $5000 each by the government. The first bonus was paid on September 8, 2023 and the second on October 13, 2023.
“On Friday 13 October 2023 Fiji time, the players demanded the full bonus to be paid for qualifying for the quarter-final and this to be paid before the quarter-final game to be held on Monday, 16 October, 2023 Fiji time,” states the report.
The Prime Minister then gave a written assurance on Friday, October 13, 2023 that the government was committed to pay the final bonus of $20,000 as soon as practicable immediately after the quarter-final, states the report.
“According to FRU (Fiji Rugby Union) since Government was not in a position to pay the players immediately because of government processes, the auditors verified that FRU paid the bonuses on behalf of Government from their overdraft facility on the 23 October 2023. Government then reimbursed FRU on 20 November 2023.”
Documents provided by FRU for review
Fiji Rugby Union Special Engagement Review of Player Allowances Rugby World Cup Squad 2023, 1 July 2023 – 15 October 2023 audit was done by I.Naiveli & Co Chartered Accountants and went through the following documents:
- Forty-three (43) player payment schedules disclosing the various payments made to each respective player within the 1 July 2023 – 15 October 2023 period as well as deductions made;
- Forty-three (43) player contracts for the Rugby World Cup squad;
- Player deduction authority for the pool game tickets and the quarter final tickets;
- Documentations supporting reimbursements;
- Bank statements for Westpac Bank Account FRFU World Cup Grant account;
- Bank statements for Westpac Bank Account Flying Fijians Program Account;
- Nine (9) batch payments which discloses the following:
- a) Breakdown of all payments to the forty three players and management;
- b) Copies of the bank statements to verify the occurrence of the actual payments from the two bank accounts;
- c) Bank batch record showing the list of payments processed for that particular allowance payout;
- d) Payment vouchers, TT payments, regulatory approvals and authority sign offs;
- e) Correspondences between Fiji Rugby Union Finance Team, the Team Manager and the High Performance Unit (HPU).
Payments made to players
The audit found payments were made to the players as follows:
- Pay Run 1) July 12, 2023 – $7500
- Pay Run 2) July 26, 2023 – $7500
- Pay Run 3) August 16, 2023 $8000
- Pay Run 4) August 30, 2023 – $8000
- Sign on fee September 4, 2023 – $30,000
- Government bonus September 8, 2023 – $5000
- Pay Run 5) September 14, 2023 – $7500
- Pay Run 6) September 28, 2023 – $7500
- Pay Run 7) October 12, 2023 – $7500
- Government bonus October 13, 2023 – $5,000
- Bonus payout from FRU on behalf of Government October 23, 2023 – $20,000
The audit reveals two sets of fixed-term player contracts were signed. First was the pre-Rugby World Cup contracts. These were signed by players selected to join the squad covering payments from pay runs one to four (see above) with a daily allowance of $500. Then there was the Rugby World Cup contracts which was a new fixed-term contract was signed by players selected to represent Fiji at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, covering payments from pay runs five to seven with a daily allowance of $500 and a sign-on fee. The players were paid according to the amounts in the contracts and attendance in camp and/or tour.
“Players received the full gross amount of $113,500, having completed the time in camp and the tour. The remaining 22 players were paid for the days spent in camp and/or tour,” states the audit report.
Player concerns explained
A total of 43 correspondence were sent out to the players to confirm total payments received and on which dates. I.Naiveli & Co Chartered Accountants noted as of the date of this submitting its report, they only received 13 responses from the players. On delays in payments reaching the bank accounts of players, the team manager confirmed that the players changed their details of their bank account mid-tour, switching from receiving payments into a local account to an overseas account.
This change was noted and processed accordingly by the finance team at FRU. The one-day delay was because FRU had to seek tax clearance. On the issue of why some players had their payments rejected by their banks, the team manager confirmed that incorrect account details were initially provided by the player, resulting in the funds being returned to the FRU’s bank account.
The delay of seven days accounted for the time taken to process tax clearances and undertake the necessary bank telegraphic transfers (TTs) to facilitate the payment after the funds were returned. Some players complained their payments reached their foreign bank accounts in seven days.
“FRU has reinforced to the team manager that additional steps must be taken to ensure that the players provide the correct bank account details and other personal details. FRU has taken further steps to reduce the payment processing times by obtaining blanket tax clearances and notifying the bank earlier,” states the audit report.
