US bars Zhao Fugang over alleged Fiji bribes

The United States has barred Zhao Fugang, a Fiji-based official linked to a Chinese state agency, from entering the country after accusing him of paying bribes to advance Beijing's interests in Fiji.

Zhao, director of the Overseas Chinese Service Centre in Suva, denied the allegations in a statement issued by his lawyers. He said they were “unsubstantiated”, that he had not been questioned by any Fijian authority and that no charge had been laid against him.

US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said Zhao engaged in “significant corruption” on behalf of actors in China. Pigott said Zhao abused his public position by paying bribes to Fijian citizens to advance China-based government, business and criminal interests.

Washington said Zhao and his immediate family members would be barred from entering the United States. The US embassy in Suva said Zhao's actions left Fiji open to “malign foreign influence” by Chinese government, business and criminal actors.

Zhao said he had written to the US embassy requesting full details of the allegations and would cooperate with any lawful inquiry by Fijian authorities.

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project alleged in 2024 that Zhao operated as a key pointman for Beijing's interests in Fiji and was suspected by Australian law enforcement of being a major figure in a transnational syndicate linked to human trafficking, money laundering and drug smuggling. Zhao's lawyer Nikheel Nambiar denied those claims and said allegations of influence-peddling for Beijing were “false and misleading”.

China's embassy in Suva did not respond to AFP requests for comment. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in Beijing that she was not aware of the case, adding that China opposed “slander and smear” directed at it.

Beijing says Overseas Chinese Service Centres help Chinese nationals abroad with administrative issues such as renewing driving licences. Rights groups have alleged the centres are fronts for Beijing to push its interests overseas, including targeting dissidents.