Former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, former Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, and former Elections Supervisor Mohammed Saneem have been exonerated from allegations examined by FICAC.
FICAC has closed the case against Mr. Bainimarama regarding accusations of falsely declaring his Income, Assets, and Liabilities for the years 2014 to 2019 and 2022. This issue was referred to FICAC by the Fijian Elections Office in February of this year.
According to FICAC, “Mr. Bainimarama declared his dividend as well as the value of his shared accounts and term saver account where the dividend was credited.” The investigation also found that based on the Income Tax (Exempt Income) Regulation 2016 Schedule (Regulation 3), the allowance in question is exempt. This type of exempt income applies to all official allowances granted to members of Parliament.
However, the Income Tax Act’s Section 15 (c) stipulates that it does not acknowledge any allowance related to the employee’s work performance, including per diem allowances. The outcome of the investigations, along with the legal opinion obtained afterward, indicated that there is insufficient evidence to substantiate the claims made by the complainant.
Regarding Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum, FICAC has cleared him of allegations concerning the failure to declare his overseas travel allowance. “FICAC has concluded its investigation into the matter and confirms that it does not have sufficient evidence to prove that Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum violated Section 24 (5) of the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Act 2013,” FICAC stated.
The findings reveal that the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Act 2013 does not specifically address the matter of “Income and the Types of Income” that officeholders of political parties are required to declare. FICAC has also provided recommendations to the Fijian Elections Office regarding revisions and strengthening of regulations to prevent similar issues in the future and ensure clarity and assistance during the investigation process.