Nauru president accused in parliament of corruptly siphoning off millions of Australian funding

"Nauru's President David Adeang, a predecessor and other individuals have been accused in the Senate of corruptly siphoning off millions of dollars of Australian taxpayer money intended for the island's arcane offshore processing regime. A previously unreleased report by Australia's financial intelligence agency, Austrac, suspected Adeang of corruption and money laundering after detecting a rapid movement of large volume and value of funds, the Senate has been told."

"He alleged that the Albanese government had signed a $2.5bn deal with Adeang to deport more than 350 people in the NZYQ cohort to the tiny Pacific nation, despite knowing of the agency's suspicions of corruption and money laundering against him. Nauru president floats returning NZYQ refugees to home countries The NZYQ cohort are a group of about 350 non-citizens who have had their visas cancelled on character grounds but who cannot be returned to their home countries, largely because they face persecution."

"The report from the Australian government's financial intelligence agency alleges suspicious transfers of millions of dollars reported by financial institutions in 2020 when Adeang was a member of parliament. The report also details suspicious activity by Lionel Aingimea, then the president of Nauru, now the foreign minister and minister for police. Suspicious matter reports submitted by the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited's customer service agency in Nauru reported suspicious financial transactions by the president of Nauru [then Aingimea], his family and associates."

Nauru's President David Adeang and other officials are accused of diverting millions of Australian taxpayer dollars intended for the island's offshore processing regime. An unreleased report from Australia's financial intelligence agency, Austrac, detected rapid, large-value fund movements and suspected corruption and money laundering involving Adeang. The report identifies suspicious transfers reported in 2020 when Adeang was a member of parliament and details similar activity tied to Lionel Aingimea, then president and now foreign minister and minister for police. Suspicious matter reports filed by Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's Nauru customer service agency flagged transactions involving the president, his family and associates. The allegations overlap with a reported $2.5 billion deal to transfer about 350 NZYQ cohort non-citizens to Nauru.

Read at www.theguardian.com