‘Top of the Hierarchy’
The five-page 2020 Fiji police briefing obtained by OCCRP portrays Zhao at the head of what officers suspected was a local organized crime group comprised of members of the country’s ethnic Chinese diaspora.
The suspected group members included Jason Zhong, who local investigators had dubbed a “Triad Boss” and “Ice Man.” Zhong was convicted in 2005 of setting up a lab in Suva capable of producing almost a ton of meth, and again in 2012 for trafficking Thai women to the country for sex work.
Zhao "has no connection" with Zhong, Nambiar said, "nor does he partake in, encourage, or support any form of criminal activity."
Zhong did not respond to questions from reporters.
Law enforcement officials had made clear that "at the top of the hierarchy was basically [Zhao] Fugang,” said an officer who was present at the meetings, and who asked not to be named due to fears of retaliation. They also included details on the alleged syndicate’s "modes of operations,” including using front businesses “to conceal the proceeds of crime.”
Both officers, along with another with direct knowledge of the events, confirmed the veracity of the document and said it had been presented to Bainimarama. Qiliho was also separately briefed, two of the officers said.
All three sources said that efforts to go after the group were stymied by Qiliho and that the suspected network remained untouched during the time he and Bainimarama held their positions.
Instead, both top officials continued to publicly mix with Zhao, who since at least 2014 had promoted himself as an “adviser” to Bainimarama.
This included Bainimarama attending a Chinese Lantern Festival function thrown by Zhao in February 2021 at his Yue Lai Hotel in Suva, according to Chinese media reporting. Zhao and Bainimarama were pictured together at another two events the same month: a Chinese New Year celebration, and the opening of a Chinese-built hospital.
Credit:
Screenshot of Facebook post shared by Frank Bainimarama
Zhao Fugang (right) and Frank Bainimarama at the 2021 opening of a Chinese-built hospital in Fiji’s Nadroga-Navosa province.
Qiliho also attended at least two official Chinese police and military events hosted at Zhao’s hotel in 2021 and 2022, according to local media reports.
In November and December 2022, Qiliho set up two companies with addresses at Zhao’s Yue Lai Hotel, corporate registry documents show. Ownership of Qiliho and his wife’s real estate holdings were transferred to the companies the following year.
Pio Tikoduadua, Fiji’s current minister for home affairs and immigration, told OCCRP that Bainimarama and Qiliho “definitely associated” with Zhao, but declined to comment on the specifics of any ongoing investigations. He did not respond to follow-up questions.
Nambiar, Zhao’s lawyer, said his client “has no personal or professional relationship with Mr. Bainimarama or Mr. Qiliho. Like any citizen or businessperson, Mr. Fugang treated them with the respect due to the Prime Minister and Police Commissioner at the time.
“In the tourism industry, customer service is everything.”
Nambiar confirmed that his law firm, which operates from an office inside the Yue Lai Hotel, had registered companies for Qiliho and his wife. But he said this work was entirely separate to his representation of Zhao and his companies.
Credit:
Aubrey Belford/OCCRP
Zhao’s Yue Lai Hotel in Suva.
New Government, Enduring Links
China made significant diplomatic inroads into Fiji during Bainimarama’s 16-year rule, including landing a far-reaching 2011 bilateral policing agreement that sent Fijian officers to China for training and boosted the reach of Chinese law enforcement in Fiji.
Zhao was a key figure in helping build China’s influence and fostering ties to the island nation’s elites. His Yue Lai Hotel frequently hosted public events featuring Chinese embassy officials, senior Fijian politicians, and police.
China’s government has strongly criticized reporting on its relationship with Zhao, including by releasing a two-part video online, dubbed “Slander in Paradise,” in response to OCCRP and Nine’s March report.
While Fiji’s current coalition government has pledged to tackle the narcotics trade and police corruption, Zhao has continued to play a public role in the bilateral relationship with China even after his status as a top Australian criminal target was revealed.
Photographs published online by Beijing’s mission in Suva show Zhao at a September cultural event alongside a Fijian military official and the country’s largely ceremonial president, Wiliame Katonivere.
Credit:
Screenshot of X post shared by @ChineseEmb_FJ
Zhao Fugang (circled-left) and former President of Fiji Wiliame Katonivere (circled-right) at a Chinese cultural event in Suva.
Katonivere did not respond to questions sent by reporters.
Zhao also attended a celebration of the People’s Republic of China’s 75th anniversary at the Grand Pacific Hotel in downtown Suva later that month alongside the Chinese ambassador, multiple Fijian ministers, and Katonivere.
A senior minister in the current government also has close ties to Jason Zhong, the twice-convicted “Triad Boss” mentioned in the 2020 Fiji Police briefing.
Although a free man, Zhong is currently facing separate charges filed by Fiji’s anti-corruption commission for allegedly bribing officials of the iTaukei Land Trust Board, the body responsible for issuing leases for land owned by Fiji’s traditional clans.
Despite this trouble, Zhong is both friends and business partners with the influential politician responsible for overseeing the land board, iTaukei Affairs Minister Ifereimi Vasu.
In 2017, they established a ginger farming business outside of Suva, corporate records show. The two men have spoken publicly about their personal bond, and the farm was even promoted online by Fiji’s Agriculture Ministry in 2020, which extolled their journey “from friends to successful partners in business.”
Credit:
Screenshot of Facebook post shared by Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways Fiji
Fiji’s Minister for iTaukei Affairs Ifereimi Vasu (right) with Jason Zhong.
Vasu’s stake in this and in a second farm he also owned with Zhong are together worth 1.1 million Fijian dollars ($489,000 at current rates), according to a 2022 asset declaration filed with Fiji election authorities.
The two men were also spotted together at Fiji’s main international airport on March 30 boarding a business class flight to Hong Kong, according to interviews and photographs obtained by reporters.
Zhong had obtained temporary court permission to travel abroad, Fiji’s anti-corruption commission confirmed to OCCRP, because he was still facing charges for the alleged bribes to the land board and was barred from leaving the country.
In a brief exchange with OCCRP, Vasu confirmed the trip, saying that Zhong wanted to “commemorate the one year burial of his dad in China.”
Vasu did not respond to detailed follow-up questions.
