Post Fiji Ltd has sought a write-off for a $9.6 million debt owed by an unidentified Australian company. This situation was highlighted in a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report concerning the Audit Reports on Public Enterprises and Other Entities for the fiscal years ending in 2019-2020 and 2021-2022, which was presented in Parliament on Thursday.
The PAC report detailed that Post Fiji had intended to recover the debt and had enlisted the services of Truth Investigations, an investigative firm based in Australia, to look into the assets of the director of the debtor company, Logistics Consultant International Pty Ltd, identified as Mr. Shaffe Khan. However, a national property ownership search revealed no properties registered under Khan’s name.
Post Fiji Ltd has confirmed its request to the government for a write-off of the $9.6 million owed by a company that has been dissolved, with its owner’s whereabouts currently unknown. In their ongoing efforts, Post Fiji sought clarity from PAC regarding the status of this outstanding debt. The company reported that it had hired both Commercial Litigation and Insolvency Lawyers, an Australian law firm, and Sherani and Company, a local firm, to handle the legal proceedings aimed at debt recovery from Logistics Consultant International Pty Ltd.
According to Post Fiji, investigations revealed that pursuing recovery was futile since the company had voluntarily been wound up and deregistered. After exhausting all possible recovery options, the management presented a decision paper to the company board in a meeting on May 19, 2023, recommending the debt’s write-off. The Post Fiji Board has since reached out to the Ministry of Public Enterprise and is awaiting a response.
PAC acknowledged the management’s findings and has recommended further investigation into this matter given the significant sum involved. They also suggested resolving this issue before 2025, including recommendations for the write-off to the Ministry of Finance.