We say: It’s time to stop the rot
Five years ago, Pacific leaders recognised the worrying levels of corruption which existed throughout the region. To manifest their concern, the Teieniwa Vision was signed as a commitment towards rooting out systemic
How Solomon Islands’ donor-funded water plant became a costly failure
A major donor-funded water plant in the capital of Solomon Islands was supposed to fix a clean water crisis. But people involved in the project said it was doomed by the Asian Development Bank’s insistence on taking
Fiji businessman jailed for drugs deported back home
Fijian businessman Aiyaz Mohammed Musa Umarji, who smuggled drugs into New Zealand has been released from jail and deported to
Former FBI director slams AFP inaction in Nauru bribery case
A former director of the U.S Federal Bureau of Investigation has criticised the Australian Federal Police over its handling of a bribery
‘Tongan Pablo’ identified in corrupt Air NZ baggage crew smuggling drugs from Los Angeles into Auckland
A Tongan man has been named as the senior baggage handler at Auckland Airport who had arranged for his criminal colleagues to import methamphetamine into Aotearoa during the Covid-19 lockdown. A New Zealand Herald
Former Cook Islands Deputy PM jailed on fraud and corruption charges
Former Cook Islands deputy Prime Minister Robert Tepaitau and two other former high-ranking Government officials were handed jail terms Friday for fraud and corruption charges. Tepaitau has been jailed for two years and
Another drug bust in PNG’s capital Port Moresby: Commissioner of Police
Papua New Guinea Police Commissioner David Manning has warned of the multi-billion kina drug trade threatening security in the nation and the region, after two women, two sacked policemen and seven others were arrested
PNG Meth ‘Black Flight’ Suspect Paid Account in Name of Migration Chief: Court Files
A China-born businesswoman accused of taking part in an audacious plot to fly a light plane packed with drugs from Papua New Guinea to Australia allegedly ordered a co-conspirator to pay into a bank account in the name
Senior Tonga Reserve Bank Official named in $15 million drug bust
A senior Tonga Reserve bank official, Tēvita Nonu Kolokihakaufisi appeared together with his sister, ‘Ana Longolongo Kolokihakaufisi at the Magistrate’s Court in Nuku’alofa Monday on charges related to a haul
Cook Islands Deputy PM and two former Govt officials found guilty in corruption case
Cook Islands Deputy Prime Minister Robert Tapaitau, former National Environment Service (NES) director Nga Puna, and his wife and former Secretary of Infrastructure Cook Islands (ICI), Diane Charlie-Puna have been found
China-born businesswoman charged over meth flight built a web of influence in PNG
Mei Lin is a prominent member of Papua New Guinea’s business community, with ties to influential locals. She’s also allegedly a key player in an audacious drug trafficking plot. Key Findings Chinese-born
PNG Immigration under investigation
Papua New Guinea’s government has engaged prominent accounting firm KPMG to investigate the PNG Humanitarian Programme and its links to an alleged Chinese drug dealer. The investigation will also cover the PNG
Woman arrested over alleged PNG drug smuggling plot
A Chinese woman arrested over an alleged $15 million drug smuggling plot has been associated with businesses that have reportedly received payments from an Australian government-funded refugee programme in Papua New
PNG Climate Change General Manager Alfred Rungol reinstated
The Papua New Guinea Climate Change Development Authority (CCDA) general manager for Measuring, Reporting, Verification and National Communication Alfred Rungol has been reinstated to his substantive position. After a
Pacific judiciaries ill-equipped against technology, says Judge
Rapid global advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technologies have left judiciaries in the Pacific outdated and ill-equipped to tackle emerging challenges, “particularly when it comes to dealing
Aimeliik Legislature calls for investigation of Rengulbai for alleged misconduct in office
The 12th Aimeliik State Legislature passed a resolution requesting Aimeliik Governor Browny Simer to investigate allegations of misconduct in office made against Aimeliik State Public Land Authority (AIMSPLA) Chairman
Tasmanian fruit pickers rescued from Samoa, Vanuatu and PNG alleged “modern slavery”
Tasmanian fruit pickers have been rescued from a company that has been treating them as ‘modern slaves’, unions say. The Australian federal government has revoked the business license of Linx Employment, leading to
UPNG officers suspended, Interim Council probing cash for grades claims
Two officers of the University of PNG’s information and communication technology department have been suspended while investigation into cash-for-grades allegations are conducted, according to chancellor Robert Igara.
Australian diplomats convinced ICAC to censor Pacific nations where Maguire schemed. It didn’t work.
Federal Australian officials successfully persuaded the NSW corruption watchdog to “de-identify” a group of Pacific countries mentioned in last week’s report on Gladys Berejiklian’s and Daryl Maguire’s
Opinion: Who will dare break the vicious cycle of corruption in the Pacific?
“When you don’t take a stand against corruption you tacitly support it.” ― Kamal Haasa The first instinct of a person responsible for the care of their loved ones in a modern-day Pacific society is to survive by
Israel frees Fijian UN peacekeepers cleared of drug smuggling suspicion
Israel has released three Fijian UN peacekeepers arrested for drug smuggling, after it emerged the suspicious substance they were carrying across the border was not liquid cocaine, police said Sunday. The three
Congressmen angry that Bikini islanders’ nuclear trust fund may have been ‘squandered’
Following widespread media coverage of the collapse of what was a more than US$70 million trust fund for Bikini islanders displaced by American nuclear weapons testing, the United States Congress has demanded answers
Preferred supplier system – one of Solomon Islands government’s wallet-holes
Solomon Islands Government’s preferred supplier system is one which is wrapped in controversy despite its purported creation with good intentions. Not for its initial purpose of bringing about efficient service for
