[Photo: File]

Fiji could face serious economic consequences if it fails its upcoming international assessment of its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures.

Acting Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga says Fiji is considered at high risk of money laundering, with narcotics, organised crime, tax and customs offences, illegal fishing, bribery and corruption among the major threats.

Turaga made the comments in Parliament while updating lawmakers on Fiji’s preparations for the 2026 mutual evaluation.

He says Fiji’s National Risk Assessment, completed in 2025, confirmed the country’s high money laundering risk.

Fiji is now being assessed on its compliance with international anti-money laundering standards.

“This assessment, called a mutual evaluation, will be conducted by the APG Secretary with a team of experts drawn from other APG jurisdictions. The burden is on Fiji to demonstrate that it has complied with international standards. It is important that Fiji does well in the mutual evaluation.”

Turaga warns an unfavorable assessment could result in Fiji being grey-listed by international partners and financial institutions.

“An unfavorable finding from this assessment process may result in serious negative consequences for Fiji, including grey-listing by international partners and financial institutions. The result of this mutual evaluation will be relied upon by a wide range of domestic and international stakeholders, like IMF, World Bank, and international banks, to make various decisions such as on investment, financing, and trade with Fiji.”

Opposition MP Premila Kumar says more attention must be given to institutions responsible for financial intelligence and combating financial crime.

“We did consultation with the enforcement agencies, and they made it very clear to us that the quality of intelligence reports needs to improve. So when this intelligence report goes to the Fiji Police Force, it’s really not up to mark.”

Turaga says the mutual evaluation presents both a challenge and an opportunity for Fiji to demonstrate progress, identify remaining gaps and strengthen its financial crime prevention framework.