Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka says the Grace Road Group is okay but the Fijian Government will handle the issue of INTERPOL Red Notices against some leaders of the Group here on a personal basis.
While reacting to the US Trafficking In Persons Report on Fiji, Rabuka says Grace Road is okay.
He says it is those people who are involved in Grace Road, they are personal cases.
Rabuka says there is nothing wrong about Grace Road but the people involved in Grace Road are the ones who are wanted.
He adds the Red Notice is not honoured personally, it is honoured by governments.
The US Trafficking In Persons Report says Fijis Human Trafficking Unit opened an investigation into trafficking allegations involving members of a religious organization affiliated with multiple businesses, the Grace Road Group, who experienced indicators of forced labour, and authorities inspected associated worksites.
It says the unit also cooperated with authorities from the country of one foreign victim in the investigation.
It adds authorities investigated the improper issuance of a Fijian passport to the child of a leader of the organisation, who subsequently left the country with the child, suggesting potential official complicity in the organisations allegedly illicit activities; these allegations led to the Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration to temporarily step aside from his position and to the suspension of the Director of Immigration.
The US report says the Fiji government has not appropriately responded to the INTERPOL Red Notices for four leaders of the organisation associated with related allegations, leading to further allegations of official complicity.
The report says despite public reporting on suspected forced labour in this organisation since at least 2018, the government has never prosecuted or convicted any offenders associated with the allegations.
When asked by fijivillage News, Rabuka confirms he has asked Minister for Immigration, Viliame Naupoto to quickly sort out the issue regarding Fiji remaining in the US Tier 2 watch list for human trafficking for the third consecutive year as we may lose our preferred recipient status for some of the US grants and aid if we are downgraded to Tier 3.
When approached by fijivillage News on the US report, Grace Road Group did not make any comments.
Stay with us for developments.
