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Conflicting reports about bribery in Customs
Tuesday,
May 6, 2008
Treasurer Gaea Perefoti Failautusi is refuting reports from within Customs that a customs agent has been reassigned for accepting a bribe.
Gaea said no customs officer has accepted a bribe and this was a serious charge for anyone to make. He said a bribe may have been offered but since he became treasurer he has not been told of any case where an agent has accepted a bribe. Gaea said custom officers are rotated daily so that no one customs agent gets to inspect containers of the same businesses. He explained that the agents draw numbers everyday to determine their inspection assignments. But sources in customs have told KHJ News that one agent has been shifted to the Credit and Collection Division because he was accepting payments from importers for favors in getting their containers cleared without thorough checks.
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