Francis Puleiwai

The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption Acting Deputy Commissioner Francis Puleiwai is in Hong Kong attending the 8th Independent Commission Against Corruption Symposium.

This statement comes in response to allegations made by the Fiji Labour Party today, claiming that Attorney General Siromi Turaga had placed Acting Deputy Commissioner Puleiwai on indefinite leave. FICAC has clarified that this allegation is false.

According to FICAC, FLP’s statement is an attempt to discredit the Commission’s work and the support it has received from the Coalition Government.

FICAC confirmed that Puleiwai is currently attending the 8th ICAC Symposium in Hong Kong, an international event organized by the Hong Kong ICAC.

This symposium gathers anti-corruption practitioners, investigators, lawyers, and specialists from around the world to discuss innovative methods for identifying, tackling, and addressing corruption.

FICAC reaffirmed that under its new leadership, it remains independent and that all cases investigated and complaints received or referred to FICAC will follow due process and procedures, regardless of who is being investigated.

The Commission has also requested for FLP to retract its statement published on its Facebook page and urged the party to conduct proper due diligence to ascertain the correct facts before making such damaging statements.