Niudamu says the evaluation will assess the technical compliance of Fiji’s laws and the effectiveness of regulatory and enforcement systems in addressing financial crime risks. [Photo: FILE]

Amendments to companies’ legislation will soon help identify individuals who may seek to conceal ownership or control of corporates or entities for unlawful purposes.

This was revealed by Assistant Justice Minister Ratu Josaia Niudamu in his end-of-week statement in Parliament today.

He said this while providing an update on the Cabinet-endorsed Companies Amendment Regulations 2006 made pursuant to section 713 of the Companies Act 2015.

Niudamu says the amendments represent an important and timely step in strengthening Fiji’s corporate transparency framework and reinforcing national commitment to combatting money laundering, terrorist financing, and the misuse of legal entities for illicit purposes.

He says Fiji is now being assessed as per the 2026-2027 mutual evaluation by the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering.

Niudamu says the evaluation will assess the technical compliance of Fiji’s laws and the effectiveness of regulatory and enforcement systems in addressing financial crime risks.

He says one of the recurring efficiencies identified in Fiji’s previous mutual evaluation was the absence of an adequate beneficial ownership framework.

Niudamu says while the current companies register records legal shareholders and directors, it does not sufficiently identify the natural persons who ultimately own, control or benefit from corporate entities operating within Fiji.

He says this creates a serious transparency gap because individuals may exercise effective control over companies indirectly or through complex legal arrangements without their identities being visible through ordinary corporate records.

Niudamu says the Companies Amendment Regulations 2026 directly addresses this deficiency by introducing for the very first time, a formal definition of ‘Beneficial Ownership Interest’ within the company’s regulations framework.