PRIME Minister Sitiveni Rabuka is open to calling for an investigation into the professional relationship shared by iTaukei Affairs Minister Ifereimi Vasu and business partner Jason Zhong should the matter be raised with him formally.

Mr Rabuka told this newspaper that he hasn’t received any report on this but if it does reach his office, he will “talk to him (Mr Vasu) first”.

This week, international investigative journalism agency, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), referred to a 2020 Fiji “police briefing” document they obtained, which included a profile of Mr Zhong, who was convicted twice in the last 20 years for sex and drug trafficking.

“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,” OCCRP reported.

When contacted by The Fiji Times, Mr Vasu said he won’t be speaking any further on this.