A leaked document claimed to be part of the report of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the appointment of Barbara Malimali as commissioner of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) has found she may have abused her powers by signing a “false” stop departure order (SDO) against former commissioner Frances Puleiwai.
The inquiry reportedly found that Ms Malimali personally lodged a complaint against Ms Puleiwai and subsequently approved a SDO which falsely indicating that an investigation had commenced, when in fact, none had.
“The evidence shows that Ms Malimali’s placement of the SDO on Ms Puleiwai was illegal. It was a breach of section 13(1)(e) of the FICAC Act,” the alleged report said.
“In addition, Ms Malimali signed a false document when she signed the SDO saying that an investigation had commenced against Ms Puleiwai when it had not.”
The report alleges that this action amounted to abuse of office.
A transcript annexed to the report quotes Ms Malimali as telling the inquiry she acted out of concern that Ms Puleiwai had made serious allegations and left the country.
“If you’re going to make an accusation about me, face me,” she said. “That was the main reason.”
The alleged report stated that although the complaint was logged in FICAC’s complaint management system, Ms Malimali admitted directing officers not to pursue an investigation, claiming the matter was being handled by the police.
“There is a complaint lodged and registered. But we haven’t carried on with the investigations because it’s with the police,” she said.
The alleged report also stated that the commission found Ms Malimali had purportedly exercised her powers arbitrarily in order to “punish someone she considers to be a foe”.
They added that her actions undermined her own claims that FICAC had been “weaponised” under the previous FijiFirst government.
