Graft News (News- Mostly It Affects the Poor
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Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption ANTI - GR A FT NEWS THE FIJI INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION ISSN 2076-3026 Volume 1, Issue 2 October - December 2009 ! Open Day held to celebrate International Anti-Corruption Day December 9th is International Anti-Corruption Day, as presentation by the Manager Community and Education designated by the General Assembly. This day presents an Department on the roles and functions of FICAC. Public annual opportunity to raise awareness around the world response was overwhelming as FICAC Customer Services about the effects of corruption and ways to fight it. staff recorded its highest number of complaints received in one day. They had heard The theme of this year’s UN our radio advertisements and Office on Drugs and Crime talkback shows or had seen (UNODC) celebrations and the advertisement in one of the awareness programme is local dailies. focused on the Millennium Development Goals, which Manager Investigation, includes : opened the day on behalf of education, development, pros- the Deputy Commissioner who perity and public health. was abroad. He said the Open Day was intended to help each To commemorate the day, individual, understand that we FICAC held an Open Day con- all have a personal responsibil- sisting of display booths, the ity to end corruption, because launch of television advertise- corruption hurts everyone, but ment, Anti-Graft News (news- mostly it affects the poor. He letter), educational posters, A senior citzen looking at displays at the Open Day concluded with the United 2010 calendar, Fijian language Nations Convention Against brochures. A crowd pleaser was the awareness power point Corruption slogan: Corruption – Your NO Counts. New Senior Prosecutors for FICAC FICAC is fortunate to have secured the expertise of two gional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). In senior Prosecutors from Sri Lanka. They bring with them the above capacity he was involved in training of lawyers over 12 years of experience in the legal profession. in Bosnia & Herzegovina on War Crime Prosecutions and he co-compiled a manual of best practices in prosecut- Mr. Madhawa Tennakoon holds a Masters of Law (LLM) ing international crimes. He is also a visiting lecturer in from the University of Turin, Italy in International Criminal the Human Rights Centre (CSHR) at the University of Law. He has over 12 years of experience as a State Counsel Colombo. (Prosecutor) in the Attorney General’s Department of Sri Lanka. He has extensive experience in Criminal Law and Mr. Nawarathne Marasinge has worked as a State Coun- Human Rights law. He has handled a wide range of crimi- sel for the Attorney Generals Office for 11 years and has nal prosecutions including Fraud and Corruption, in addi- prosecuted a number of fraud and coruption cases in the tion to defending state officials before the Supreme Court of High Court of Sri Lanka. He obtained a Bachelors degree Sri Lanka, in violation of fundamental human rights cases. and Masters of Law (LLB, LLM) from the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka. He has attended workshops and Mr. Tennakoon has served as a Consultant on “Interna- short courses in France, Italy, Canada, Malaysia, Australia, tional Criminal Tribunals” at the United Nations Interre- USA and Thailand. IN THIS 2 - 3 4 - 5 6 7 FICAC News Community Updates Financial Forensics Legal ISSUE:www.ficac.org.fj December 2009 Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption BACKGROUND ON FICAC The Fiji Independent Commission Against Deputy Commissioner’s Corruption is mandated by FICAC Promul- gation No. 11 of 2007. Its aims are to protect Message public interest, prevent breaches of public trust and guide the conduct of public officials. Our achievements in the last quarter of 2009 were overwhelming. The primary objectives of the Promulgation are to promote the integrity and accountabil- Despite the limited resources at our disposal and the enormous tasks at ity of public administration through the estab- hand, we were able to meet our work plan targets for the year. lishment of FICAC to: Our offices in Suva, Lautoka and Labasa registered complaints total- • Investigate, and prosecute corruption ing 1558, of which 1077 was resolved amicably and 7 prosecuted in the and bribery related cases, courts. • Examine and advise government of its practises and procedures that are condu- FICAC is very pleased to note a steady increase in the reporting of cor- cive to corruption and ruption and the support from the general public and parties concerned. • Educate and enlist public support in com- bating corruption This is testament to the fact that the Fiji public is slowly beginning to appreciate and recognise the sterling work the organisation is doing, Although FICAC is a statutory independent with the support and dedication of its hardworking staff, in ensuring investigative body, it is accountable to the that we work towards having a corruption-free society. people of Fiji through His Excellency, the President. Our Customer Services Team continue to receive numerous complaints on a daily basis and despite the limited resources and manpower, we ensure their complaints and grievances are resolved. Our Community and Education Teams have generated good response ANTI-GRAFT NEWS through their awareness programmes and this could be attributed to the Anti-Graft News is the official newsletter of large number of complaints received. the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption. In recent months there has been an increase in complainants coming in person to lodge their complaints and this is an indication of members of It is a quarterly publication produced by the the public having confidence in FICAC. Community and Education Department with articles from other Departments of FICAC. As a result of the large number of complaints received we have gone out- side our Promulgation to assist complainants to ensure their grievances To receive a copy of Anti-Gaft News, contact: and complaints are addressed with most expressing satisfaction with the outcome. Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption FICAC will continue to assist the public and work hand in hand with rel- Rev John Hunt House evant agencies to tackle corruption and the onus is on every individual to 3 St Fort Street ensure that corruption is reported and not condoned. P.O.Box 2335 Government Buildings Suva, Fiji Phone : (679) 3310152, (679) 3310149 Statistics for 4th Quarter of 2009 Fax: (679) 3310297 Email: [email protected] Location Suva Labasa Lautoka Complaints received 539 564 455 www.ficac.org.fj Complaints Resolved 303 422 352 Cases Prosecuted 3 1 3 2 December 2009 Ensuring our citizens live a life free of Corruption Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption MOU with Financial Intelligence Unit Anti-Corruption Views “I find it difficult to understand how executives in the modern world could possibly have no knowledge or awareness of anti- corruption. What does that say about the culture and sustain- ability of the business organisa- tion? And indeed whether it is an attractive place in which to work. People want to work in organisations that have moral standards and a commitment On 3rd November 2009, the Fiji corruption in Fiji and also adds to to ethics. A corporate’s image is Independent Commission Against strengthened border control. inevitably and rightly tarnished Corruption signed a Memoran- when it is seen to be involved in dum of Understanding with the Fiji Director FIU Razim Buksh said corrupt activities. As individuals Financial Intelligence Unit. coming into network with FICAC we do not want to live in a soci- would strengthen their respective ety where corruption flourishes: FICAC anticipates improved col- roles and responsibilities and collec- why therefore do we consider lection and better management of tively strengthen the investigation and that it is acceptable for others to information that the two agencies prosecution of white collar crimes, live in such a society?” will share. This will lead to better- money laundering and corruption. resourced investigation and pros- * Extract from the speech of the ecution. FICAC has an MOU with the Fiji Director, Serious Fraud Office, Inlands Revenue and Customs Mr. Richard Alderman at the 4th The MOU strengthens FICAC’s com- Authority and plans to sign more with ICAC Symposium on 15 Decem- mitment in eradicating all forms of other agencies in the coming year. ber 2009. Deputy Commissioner in Hong Kong for Course & Symposium The Deputy Commissioner, Mr. versary of the organisation’s establish- impact of corruption in business on George Langman, was in Hong Kong, ment. The ICAC is the oldest Anti- the global community. China to attain a Postgraduate Certifi- Corruption Agency in the world. cate in Corruption Studies from Hong He said the present financial crisis Kong University. The title of the symposium was Deals has brought to Hong Kong the extent under the table – the doing or undo- to which the world is now a univer- The programme provides capacity ing of business? sal economy. building for all practitioners and pro- fessionals in anti-corruption and law The symposium was co-hosted by the He added that the ICAC recognized enforcement agencies, justice depart- European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). the importance of forming strategic ments, regulatory bodies, accounting OLAF is an organization whose mis- partnerships in the international and legal practioners from around the sion is to protect the financial interests arena to more effectively combat world. of the European Union and its citizens corruption. against fraud, corruption and any After completing the course, the other illegal activities. Eminent experts from anti-corrup- Deputy Commissioner represented tion and related fields shared their Fiji at the 4th Annual Hong Kong The Commissioner of the Hong Kong knowledge in combating corruption ICAC Symposium. The symposium ICAC, Dr.