Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit Releases Annual Report for 2015

The Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has released its annual report for 2015, providing insights into the various alert notices and directives issued to financial institutions throughout the year.

Alert Notices Issued in 2015

In 2015, the FIU issued a total of seven alert notices, which involved 41 individuals and one entity. The majority of these notices related to individuals suspected of being linked to possible advance fee fraud schemes.

Here are the details of the alert notices:

January 7, 2015: Notice 1/2015 - Commercial banks and money remittance service providers alerted about possible advance fee fraud.
March 6, 2015: Notice 2/2015 - Commercial banks and money remittance service providers alerted about possible advance fee fraud and investment fraud.
May 13, 2015: Notice 3/2015 - Commercial banks and money remittance service providers alerted about possible advance fee fraud.
April 2, 2015: Notice 4/2015 - Attempts to exchange large quantities of demonetised foreign currency in Fiji detected.
June 22, 2015: Notice 5/2015 - Stolen foreign currency from robbery at a local residence reported.
August 6, 2015: Notice 6/2015 - Possible advance fee fraud detected.
September 29, 2015: Notice 7/2015 - Stolen foreign currency from robbery at a commercial bank outlet reported.

Directives Issued in 2015

In addition to issuing alert notices, the FIU also issued 11 directives to financial institutions in 2015. These directives aimed to ensure compliance with the Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTR Act) and facilitate any investigations anticipated by the FIU or law enforcement agencies.

Here are the details of the directives:

March 20, 2015: Instruction Notice 1/2015 - Commercial banks instructed to undertake enhanced due diligence on customers and establish source of funds.
March 26, 2015: Instruction Notice 2/2015 - Commercial banks instructed to establish source of funds and ascertain ultimate destination of subsequent withdrawal transactions.
March 27, 2015: Instruction Notice 3/2015 - Commercial banks instructed to identify third-party transactions and seek approval in writing before proceeding with any withdrawal transactions.
May 13, 2015: Instruction Notice 4/2015 - Commercial banks instructed to establish source of funds and ascertain ultimate destination of subsequent withdrawal transactions.
June 25, 2015: Instruction Notice 5/2015 - Commercial banks instructed to identify third-party transactions and seek approval in writing before proceeding with any withdrawal transactions.
July 31, 2015: Instruction Notice 6/2015 - Commercial banks instructed to establish source of funds and ascertain ultimate destination of subsequent withdrawal transactions.
August 17, 2015: Instruction Notice 7/2015 - Commercial banks instructed to identify third-party transactions and seek approval in writing before proceeding with any withdrawal transactions.
August 25, 2015: Instruction Notice 8/2015 - Commercial banks instructed to establish source of funds and ascertain ultimate destination of subsequent withdrawal transactions.
September 24, 2015: Instruction Notice 9/2015 - Commercial banks instructed to identify third-party transactions and seek approval in writing before proceeding with any withdrawal transactions.
December 2, 2015: Instruction Notice 11/2015 - Commercial banks instructed to establish source of funds and ascertain ultimate destination of subsequent withdrawal transactions.

The Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit plays a crucial role in combating financial crimes and protecting the country’s financial system from being used by criminal elements. Its annual report provides valuable insights into the types of threats facing the financial sector and the measures taken to mitigate them.