The Fiji Independent Commission has notified the Fijian Elections Office about the closure of three files that were submitted for investigation in September 2023.
FICAC conducted a preliminary inquiry into complaints made against the FijiFirst Party, which included the following issues:
One complaint involved alleged corrupt practices related to a false declaration against the Fiji First Australia Association Incorporated, specifically implicating Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and Tito Bainimarama. FICAC noted that the list of donations submitted by the FijiFirst Party to the Registrar of Political Parties for the years 2015 to 2022 did not include the Fiji First Australia Association Incorporated, which is registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Attempts to obtain additional documentation from the complainant, Alexandra Forwood, were unsuccessful as she could not provide relevant documents or specific dates regarding the alleged corrupt practices.
Additionally, FICAC investigated allegations linking Tito Bainimarama to the former leader of FijiFirst, Voreqe Bainimarama. The findings showed no records pertaining to Tito Bainimarama in official databases such as Births, Deaths & Marriages, the Land Transport Authority, Immigration, and the Fiji Revenue & Customs Authority. Thus, it was confirmed that Tito Bainimarama is not the former FijiFirst Party Leader, Voreqe Bainimarama.
Another set of complaints involved Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Mohammed Saneem, and Ariff Ali concerning collusion, conflict of interest, and a donation made while Ali was a civil servant. Preliminary findings showed that neither Sayed-Khaiyum nor Saneem are shareholders of Formscaff (Fiji) Pte Limited, and that the contract was awarded following the proper tender process by the FEO. The investigation also affirmed that the tender procedure was correctly adhered to for Xiarch Solutions Pvt Ltd, which was awarded a contract for the 2022 General Elections.
Moreover, allegations against Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, the President of the Republic of Fiji, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, and Charan Jeath Singh prompted a preliminary investigation that sought input from the Financial Intelligence Unit regarding their financial information. The information obtained was sufficient to refute the allegations, and FICAC verified the assets and liabilities reported by the Fiji FIU.
Based on the results of the preliminary inquiries and subsequent legal opinions, FICAC informed the Supervisor of Elections that there was no evidence to substantiate the claims made by the complainant, leading to the closure of the files.