The arrest and charging of British-Fijian publisher Charlie Charters has pushed Fiji’s anti-corruption watchdog into fresh controversy.

Charters’ arrest by police last weekend has raised sharp questions about whistleblowers, due process, and political pressure in the Pacific island nation.

The 57-year-old appeared in the Suva Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with two counts of aiding and abetting.

• READ MORE: Fiji PM Rabuka stands by anti-corruption body after arrest of critic
• Arrest and charges against British-Fijian national spark free speech concerns
• FICAC defends silence in Charlie Charters case amid social media commentary
• Charters bailed and stop departure issued
• Other FICAC reports

The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) alleges he helped an officer of the commission unlawfully release official information, which was then posted on his Facebook account, “Charlie Charters”.

In a statement, FICAC saID the first charge related to posts made between 2 November and 14 December 2025. The second related to a post on 2 February 2026.

Under section 13G of the FICAC Act, it is an offence for an officer or former officer to divulge official information without written authorisation.

Charlie Charters speaking outside the court.             Video: FijiVillage News

Section 45 of the Crimes Act states that a person who aids and abets an offence is taken to have committed that offence and is punishable accordingly.

Stopped at airport
Charters was stopped at Nadi International Airport on Saturday while travelling to Sydney.

He reportedly declined requests from FICAC officers to reveal his sources and spent two nights in custody before being granted bail.

The court imposed strict bail conditions, including surrendering his travel documents and a stop departure order.

A non-cash bail bond of $2000 was set with a surety. The matter has been adjourned to March 2.

FICAC said it had not issued a public comment earlier because the matter was under active investigation.

“It would have been inappropriate and contrary to established investigative practice to discuss a live investigation while inquiries were continuing, irrespective of commentary circulating on social media,” the statement read.

“The matter is now properly before the court and will proceed in accordance with due process.”

Agency challenged
But Charters’ lawyer, Seforan Fatiaki, has strongly challenged the agency’s actions.

He has publicly alleged that the arrest and detention were aimed at forcing his client to reveal his source instead of pursuing a genuine criminal investigation.

“It was made clear that Mr Charters’ arrest and detention were carried out for the sole purpose of extracting that information from him,” Fatiaki said.

“If Mr Charters will not volunteer that information, FICAC cannot lawfully use its powers of detention and arrest to pressure him into giving it.”

Fatiaki described the actions as a gross misuse of FICAC’s statutory powers, particularly the prohibition on departure from Fiji.

The case comes at a sensitive time for FICAC. Fiji’s Judicial Services Commission is reportedly of the view that the appointment of the agency’s current head, Lavi Rokoika, was not legal.

Appointed after sacking
She was appointed last May after the sacking of former commissioner Barbara Malimali.

The High Court has since ruled that Malimali’s removal was “unlawful”.

Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has sought to distance his government from the unfolding saga.

“We will not interfere [with FICAC],” Rabuka told reporters in Suva.

He acknowledged Fiji does not have a whistleblower policy but said it needed one. Rabuka added that questions remained about “how do we know that the whistleblower is genuine and the facts that they raised are factual”.

As the case heads back to court next week, many in Fiji and across the Pacific will be watching closely.

For some, it is about whether anti-corruption laws are being upheld. For others, it is about whether those who publish leaked information can do so without fear of being forced to reveal their sources.

Republished from Pacific Media Network News with permission.

Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says his government will not interfere with the work of the country’s anti-corruption body following the latest turn of events involving a British-Fijian national.

On Monday, Charlie Charters, a former Fiji Rugby administrator and a journalist, was released on bail by the Suva Magistrates Court after being charged with aiding and abetting an unknown Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) whistleblower into releasing confidential information from the agency.

Charters, 57, was en route to Sydney on Saturday but was held at Nadi International Airport and reportedly asked by FICAC officers to reveal his sources in order to proceed with his scheduled flight.

• READ MORE: Arrest and charges against British-Fijian national spark free speech concerns
• FICAC defends silence in Charlie Charters case amid social media commentary
• Charters bailed and stop departure issued
• Other FICAC reports

He reportedly declined to comply and as a result spent two nights in FICAC custody before appearing in court yesterday. He has been released on strict bail conditions and has been ordered to surrender his travel documents.

Charters’ arrest comes amid a deepening constitutional crisis at FICAC.

According to local media, Fiji’s Judicial Services Commission, the body responsible for making recommendations to Fijian President on constitutional officers, is of the view that the appointment of FICAC’s current head Lavi Rokoika was not legal.

It makes the saga significantly complicated for Rabuka, as Rokoika was appointed in May last year following the sacking of FICAC’s previous chief, Barbara Malimali.

Appointment unlawful
While Rabuka said that the decision to dismiss Malimali was in response to the findings of a 650-page Commission of Inquiry led by Judge David Ashton-Lewis, the Fiji High Court has now ruled Malimali’s appointment was “unlawful”.

Charters has been using his Facebook platform to highlight what he describes as shortcomings of Rabuka’s coalition government which came into power in December 2022.

His posts have focused mainly on governance concerns, including issues at FICAC.

His arrest, detention, and charges have heightened anxiety among politicians, advocates and the public about FICAC and Rokoika using intimidation tactics — tactics for which the previous FijiFirst administration was accused.

“We will not interfere [with FICAC],” Rabuka told reporters in Suva when asked about the situation.

He said Fiji did not have a whistleblower policy but it needed one.

However, he added that questions needed to be asked about “how do we know that the whistleblower is genuine and the facts that they raised are factual”.

“Those are the things that will have to be considered before we formulate the policy on whistleblowing.”

Meanwhile, the case against Charters has been adjourned until March 2.

FICAC said the matter was now before the court and would proceed according to due process.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The arrest and detention of a dual Fijian and British national by Fiji’s anti-corruption agency over the weekend has sparked concerns about freedom of expression from the country’s politicians, advocates and journalists.

Charlie Charters, a former senior manager at the Fiji Rugby Union and a journalist, is in custody at the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) headquarters in Suva.

He was charged in the Suva Magistrates Court today following reports by local news media at the weekend that he was being held “on suspicion of aiding and abetting a FICAC whistleblower”.

• READ MORE: FICAC defends silence in Charlie Charters case amid social media commentary
• Charters bailed and stop departure issued
• Other FICAC reports

According to local media, Charters, 57, has written extensively about the inner workings of FICAC and the Fiji Sports Council, citing publicly available documents and his own sources.

He was scheduled to depart from Nadi International Airport for Sydney on Saturday.

However, he was stopped by FICAC officials and offered a “deal” to reveal his sources and carry on with his planned travel.

“But the terms of that deal were not acceptable to me or any right-thinking citizen. As a result I was arrested,” Charters said in a statement to Fiji media.

Fiji media ‘alarmed’
The Fijian Media Association (FMA) said it was “alarmed” at the anti-corruption agency’s actions.

“The detainment and arrest [of Charters] look like a re-enactment of scenes from a dark past that we fought hard to be free from,” it said in a statement.

The country’s Judicial Services Commission (JSC), which appoints the head of FICAC, held an emergency meeting on Sunday.

The JSC confirmed that it would make “certain recommendations” to Fijian President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, including the arrest of Charters by end of business on Monday.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The Fiji Times reports FICAC has defended its decision not to comment publicly on the investigation involving Charters, saying it would have been inappropriate to do so while inquiries were ongoing, regardless of commentary circulating on social media.

In a statement issued today, FICAC confirmed that Charters appeared before the Suva Magistrates’ Court and has been charged with two counts of aiding and abetting, contrary to Section 45 of the Crimes Act 2009, read together with Section 13G(1) of the FICAC Act 2007.

Section 13G of the FICAC Act makes it an offence for an officer or former officer of the Commission to divulge official information without written authorisation.

Section 45 of the Crimes Act provides that a person who aids and abets the commission of an offence is deemed to have committed that offence and is punishable accordingly.

Granted bail
Fiji Village reports Magistrate Shageeth Somaratne granted Charters, who lives in Hong Kong, $2000 bail and he was barred from travel and the case was adjourned until March 2.

Charters had earlier said in a letter written from FICAC custody last night that he had been approached by whistleblower(s) with the information that FICAC had hired the daughter of the Fiji Sports Council CEO just days after FICAC had cleared the same CEO of converting a public sponsorship for private benefit.

The letter by Charters said That he was offered a “deal” at Nadi International Airport on Saturday to tell FICAC about the whistleblower(s) and he could get on his flight.

Charters said FICAC “campaigns relentlessly” for public and private bodies to set up whistleblower policies but FICAC itself had no such whistleblower policy.