Francis Puleiwai, the former acting deputy commissioner of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC), has alleged that government ministers and senior officials interfered with their operations during her tenure at FICAC. In an interview with ABC News Australia, she revealed that these interferences led to delays in investigations.
Puleiwai reported that her office received not just referrals from their internal channels, but also complaints from external sources, including the Supervisor of Elections. These complaints related primarily to investigations of declarations made by ministers. She noted that some ministers directly contacted her to inquire if any complaints had been filed against them, to which she consistently responded that the process should proceed without influence.
She emphasized that such interference was also prevalent during the previous government, asserting that it impeded the work of FICAC officials. Puleiwai mentioned that ongoing pressure from ministers concerning complaints against them often occurred, which complicated efforts to execute search warrants required for investigations.
Furthermore, she alleged that there were attempts by individuals under investigation to ascertain the identities of complainants and details of the complaints against them, which she deemed as a form of interference. Puleiwai stated that requests for confidential information about complainants were common but remained unfulfilled due to the nature of procedural confidentiality.
She explained that FICAC functions not only as an investigation body but also as a prosecutorial entity. The delays caused by document requests that were not fulfilled were significant, raising public scrutiny about FICAC’s effectiveness. Puleiwai conveyed that the internal challenges had a tangible impact on their ability to conduct thorough investigations and potentially lead to prosecutions.
In response to these claims, Attorney-General Graham Leung stated that he was not aware of any interference by government ministers in FICAC’s activities.