Fiji Steps Up Asset Forfeiture Ahead of 2026 AML/CFT Mutual Evaluation

Fiji has about FJ$11 million in assets currently subject to active forfeiture proceedings as the government intensifies efforts to deprive criminal networks of illicit proceeds ahead of the country’s 2026 anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing mutual evaluation.

Acting Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga told Parliament that most of the assets involved in active forfeiture cases are linked to drug-related offences. One recent major case involves properties valued at almost FJ$9 million, according to reporting of the parliamentary statement by FBC News and The Fiji Times.

Dedicated civil forfeiture capability

The government has established a dedicated Civil Forfeiture Unit within the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Prosecutors have also obtained Unexplained Wealth Orders under Fiji’s Proceeds of Crime Act against known drug dealers whose wealth was found to be significantly disproportionate to their declared legitimate income.

The asset-recovery push involves cooperation among the Fiji Police Force, Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, Financial Intelligence Unit, Fiji Revenue and Customs Service, Reserve Bank of Fiji and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The objective is to improve financial intelligence sharing, tracing of criminal proceeds and the restraint and confiscation of assets linked to serious crime.

Money-laundering risks under review

Fiji’s official 2025 National Risk Assessment identifies illicit narcotics and organised crime among the country’s major money-laundering threats. Tax and customs offences, illegal fishing, bribery and corruption are also identified as important predicate-crime risks.

The upcoming Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering mutual evaluation will assess both Fiji’s legal and institutional framework and its effectiveness in areas including financial intelligence, investigation and prosecution of money laundering, and confiscation of criminal assets. Turaga said an assessment team is expected in Fiji in September for discussions with government agencies and private-sector representatives.

Turaga also warned Parliament that a weak assessment outcome could increase the risk of Fiji being subjected to enhanced international monitoring. Any such listing, however, would require a separate FATF/APG process and is not an automatic consequence of the mutual evaluation itself.

The latest figures show that Fiji’s AML reform agenda is increasingly focused on effectiveness rather than legislation alone: authorities are being tested on whether financial intelligence, unexplained-wealth tools and forfeiture powers are producing identifiable asset-recovery outcomes.