‘Significant corruption’: US sanctions Chinese businessman over ‘bribes’ in Fiji

The US government has sanctioned a leading Chinese-Fijian businessman who Western intelligence agencies have secretly investigated for years over allegations that he leads an organised crime syndicate harming Australia’s security interests, while simultaneously working to entrench Chinese Communist Party influence in Suva and across the South Pacific.

The US State Department’s designation of Zhao Fugang on Thursday morning comes two years after this masthead and 60 Minutes revealed Australia’s peak criminal intelligence agency had secretly listed him as one of its highest priority targets over allegations he was operating as a regional crime boss and Beijing’s key agent of political influence in Fiji.

Officials in Canberra, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) had both provided critical intelligence to US agencies to inform the decision to sanction Zhao.

In a statement, a US State Department official said the US sanctioned Zhao “for his involvement in significant corruption on behalf of China-based actors”.

“This action renders Zhao and his immediate family members generally ineligible for entry into the United States,” the statement said.

“Zhao abused his public position by paying bribes to Fijian citizens to advance China-based government, business, and criminal interests. His actions constituted significant corruption and adversely affected US interests in Fiji.

“The United States will hold accountable those who abuse power for personal gain, and continue to fight corruption that fuels drug trafficking, enables transnational criminal organisations, and threatens US interests around the world.”

The action by Washington highlights the ongoing battle for influence in the region, albeit with the international community focused on events in the Middle East.

It also highlights the challenge Canberra faces responding to major security threats in the South Pacific, spanning corruption and organised crime amid an intense geopolitical contest with Beijing for influence.

In her recent public addresses, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett had highlighted the threat posed by state actors working with organised crime organisations to harm Australian interests.

In 2024, this masthead and 60 Minutes revealed that Western agencies secretly considered Zhao an alleged crime boss even as he spent years gathering business and political influence in Suva.

It was also revealed that an elite Fijian police taskforce working with Australia and New Zealand to fight surging drug trafficking and organised crime in the Pacific region was suspected to have been secretly compromised by the alleged Zhao syndicate.

Australian security officials’ concerns that members of the Fijian police commissioner’s illicit drug taskforce had worked for the alleged Zhao syndicate are detailed in police files seen by this masthead and briefings provided by officials in Suva.

Zhao was designated one of Australia’s highest-priority criminal targets in July 2023.

Zhao has denied any wrongdoing, and there is no suggestion by this masthead that he is guilty of any offence, only that Australian agencies have listed him as a high-level criminal threat.

The “Zhao syndicate” comprises a network of criminals and facilitators spanning the South Pacific and was allegedly led by Zhao, a powerful Fijian businessman and Chinese Communist Party operative, for more than a decade.

Experts said Zhao’s previous secret ACIC designation as a “priority organisation target” was especially significant in light of the businessman’s extensive work to build Chinese Communist Party influence in Fiji, which included strengthening formal ties between Chinese and Fijian police.

Canberra is spending hundreds of millions of dollars across the South Pacific to counter Beijing’s efforts to use its diplomatic and business reach, along with agents of influence such as Zhao, to build influence in the region.

This task has become more challenging for the Albanese government as the Trump administration increasingly shifts Washington’s focus away from Asia and to the Middle East.

Australian officials have anticipated the US’s designation of Zhao for at least 18 months, sources said.

Zhao’s listing as a high-priority target for Australian law enforcement, including for his role developing Chinese political interests in Fiji, previously sparked a fierce reaction from China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.

It labelled the allegations “fake news” when they were first revealed by this masthead.

Australian policing agencies listed Zhao as an Australian Priority Organisation Target over allegations that he was seeking “to influence the [South Pacific] environment to provide cover for Chinese organised crime” and provide “a Fijian ‘safe hub’ for drug shipments” bound for Australia.

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