The Fijian government has been left chasing its tail after a high-profile businessman described as a “Chinese national”, who was under investigation by the tax office for an alleged multimillion-dollar fraud case, fled the country despite having a stop-departure order against his name.
Local media report that Dickson Peng, also known as Dick Peng, the owner of an electronics and technology solutions company, defrauded the Fijian government of FJ$23 million (approximately NZ$17.5m) in tax dating back to 2019.
Peng, who was a prominent financier of the previous FijiFirst administration, was also at the centre of controversy surrounding his real estate development company, Freesoul Real Estate Development.
The company was fined a landmark FJ$1m (approximately NZ$750,000) by the Fiji High Court for causing major destruction to a pristine reef while attempting to build a resort on Malolo Island – a scandal brought to light following a major expose by New Zealand-based news outlet, Newsroom.
Fiji’s Immigration Minister Viliame Naupoto has told fijivillage.com that the anti-corruption office is investigating the case.
Last week, Naupoto told reporters that immigration officials would only be able to stop people at the border if a formal notice had been issued.
According to Fiji Sun, Peng departed the country in April this year.
Fiji Revenue and Customs Service CEO Udit Singh told the newspaper that past leadership at the tax office was responsible for Peng fraud case.
Singh did not respond to the Fiji Sun’s questions on why his businesses were still operational.
“Peng, who owns multiple properties in the country, is alleged to have created false and fictitious invoices, falsified sales records and claimed fraudulent Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds,” the news outlet reported.
The Immigraion Ministry permanent secretary Aliki Salusalu has confirmed that an internal investigation is underway to find out how Peng was able to bypass the stop departure order.
“It’s not supposed to happen,” he said.
