Attorney-General Graham Leung presented the 2023 Annual Report of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in Parliament on Monday. Esther Sue, Acting Director of the FIU, highlighted that 2023 posed significant challenges as financial crime trends evolved, leading to increased demand for the FIU’s intelligence and expertise from law enforcement agencies.
Sue emphasized the FIU’s role as an intelligence agency that actively refers financial intelligence to law enforcement for the investigation and prosecution of serious financial crimes. The FIU also assists law enforcement in identifying and confiscating the proceeds of crime.
Throughout 2023, the FIU shared 429 intelligence reports with law enforcement bodies, regulatory agencies, and government ministries. Many of these reports were generated from suspicious transaction reports submitted by various financial institutions operating in Fiji.
This year, the FIU completed a risk assessment focusing on money laundering and terrorist financing within Fiji’s banking sector, with the findings now published on the FIU’s website. Sue noted, “As a regulator, the FIU aims to ensure financial institutions maintain robust internal systems and controls to prevent their services from being exploited by criminals for money laundering, terrorist financing, and other serious financial offenses.”
In its oversight efforts, the FIU undertook risk-based supervision of both financial institutions and non-financial businesses, including legal practitioners, real estate agents, and accountants. This included on-site examinations of several real estate agents and legal professionals to evaluate their compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. To optimize resource allocation, a risk-based supervision strategy was applied, allowing the FIU to focus on higher-risk entities given the extensive number of institutions it oversees.
To foster innovation in digital payments, the FIU released new guidelines outlining the requirements for financial institutions regarding the use of digital ID systems for customer due diligence and electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) processes.
The Acting Director expressed gratitude for the continued support from the Reserve Bank of Fiji, which funds the FIU, along with all financial institutions and law enforcement partners for their contributions to the FIU’s work in 2023.