A high court in Suva this week granted an application by Fiji’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to seize properties believed to have been purchased with the proceeds of crime.
The case revolves around Aidong Zhang, who was convicted in 2019 of obtaining property by deception and laundering money between June 2014 and January 2016. According to court documents, Zhang deceived a business partner into believing that certain properties were being sold for $5.5 million, when their actual value was just $3.3 million.
Zhang pocketed the difference and used the funds to acquire real estate assets. These properties will now be sold, and the proceeds handed over to the State.
This legal action was taken under Fiji’s Proceeds of Crime Act, which allows for the civil forfeiture of assets even without a new criminal conviction. The ODPP confirmed the ruling was made under Sections 19C and 19E of the legislation.
“This judgment underscores the ODPP’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that criminals are deprived of the proceeds of crime,” the ODPP said in a statement. “We will relentlessly pursue and target properties derived from criminal operations.”
Court documents showed that Zhang told a business partner to pay $ 5.5 million for a property at Waimanu Road, which was valued at $3.3 million. He was given a suspended sentence and was fined $100,000.
