The Ministry of Foreign Affair’s Chief Protocol Officer Neumi Leweni has been suspended pending an investigation into an alleged visa scam.

According to a report in the Fiji Sun, Leweni’s suspension comes after the termination of a female protocol official earlier this month in connection with the alleged scam.

Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Iowane Naivalurua confirmed to the incident.

According to the daily paper, the latest alleged incident stemmed from the addition of two extra names on the official list of delegates to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The delegation was to stop over in Australia before flying to London. The two mystery persons were not civil servants nor do they have any links with the Government.

The mystery two were allegedly supposed to travel with the delegation and disembark in Australia.

The anomaly was discovered when the visa applications for the group were processed by the Australian High Commission Immigration section in Suva.
The pair were detected because they had previously tried to enter Australia using a fake visa.

How they ended up on the official list is still uncertain and the reason for the investigation.

It is understood the Australians communicated their concern to the Government which subsequently acted accordingly with the dismissal of the protocol officer whose case was handed to Police to investigate.

Since then though, more information has come to light which has led to the suspension of the Chief Protocol Officer, Neumi Leweni.