Post Fiji Ltd has submitted a request to the government to write off a $9.6 million debt owed by an unidentified Australian company, as revealed in a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). This report was presented to Parliament on Thursday and covers audit years ending in 2019-2020 and 2021-2022.
The PAC report notes that Post Fiji has made efforts to recover the debt and engaged an Australian investigative firm, Truth Investigations, to look into the personal assets of Mr. Shaffe Khan, the Director of Logistics Consultant International Pty Ltd, the company responsible for the debt. However, a national property search failed to locate any assets belonging to Khan.
The request for the debt write-off comes after it was determined that Logistics Consultant International Pty Ltd has been voluntarily dissolved and is no longer registered as a company. Post Fiji has also sought legal assistance from both Australian and local law firms to pursue recovery of the outstanding amount.
Despite these efforts, the investigation concluded that recovering the debt would not be feasible due to the company’s dissolution. After exploring all recovery options, Post Fiji’s management proposed a write-off to the board in a meeting held on May 19, 2023. They have since consulted with the Ministry of Public Enterprise and are awaiting a response.
The PAC has recommended further investigation into this matter because of the significant amount involved and aims to resolve the issue, including write-off recommendations to the Ministry of Finance, before 2025.