The top officials of two Fijian agencies have met to discuss issues relating to the investigation of trade-based money laundering (TBML) involving incorrect declaration of the value of goods and related financial crimes.
The meeting of the director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Razim Buksh, and the chief executive officer of Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS), Visvanath Das, underlines the authorities’ firm intent to seriously investigate fraud and strengthen tax and customs compliance.
2017 results
The FIU in 2017 issued 317 intelligence case dissemination reports for the FRCS to follow up on suspected money-laundering activities, tax crimes and other financial crimes.
The cases involved US$220 million that FIU officers suspected may be owed in customs or taxes.
The FRCS used information provided by FIU last year to investigate 1,279 individuals and businesses involved in tax and customs violations.
Motors and wholesalers
The agencies’ chiefs focused on the most prevalent forms of trade-based money laundering in Fiji, which are most frequently perpetrated through the motor trade or through wholesalers.
Some 21 per cent of penalties imposed in 2017 due to money-laundering and tax offences related to financial crime in the motor trade.
Categories: Trade Based Financial crimes News
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