FIU detects suspicious deposits from market vendors

The Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit has revealed that it has detected some cases where market vendors bank accounts have been used to deposit the weekly sales of vegetables as well as cash from the sale of drugs.

Director, Razim Buksh says the Banks need to report to them if they see market vendors are making unusual deposits of $5,000 or $10,000 if their weekly sales are about $1,000.

He says they are now also looking at transactions below $10,000 that could be suspicious.

He says all cash transactions are sitting in the FIU’s database.

He made these comments while addressing the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economic Affairs.

A committee member, Prem Singh then asked how the Fiji Intelligence Unit will track suspicious transactions if they do not go through the banks and other financial institutions.

Singh then gave an example saying drug lords in Fiji do not go through banks and use the money from drug sales to buy cars and renovate homes.

Buksh says the reporting of suspicious transactions is mandatory.

He says if banks or any of the financial institutions do not have measures to track suspicious transactions and are not reporting them, then they are committing an offence.

Buksh adds their IT experts have an artificial intelligence system programmed which will keep track of all transactions on a 24/7 basis.