Tonga’s long-awaited Anti-Corruption Commission ended its first year with 36 cases under investigation but no charges or prosecutions, as severe staff shortages, limited investigative capacity and gaps in key systems challenged the new watchdog expected to confront the Kingdom’s long-running corruption allegations.
The figures provide the first official picture of how the much-anticipated Commission has responded to complaints after years of public concern over alleged corruption, misuse of public funds and weaknesses in government accountability.
Its inaugural annual report shows 37 complaints were received during FY2024/25. Of those, 36 — 97.3 percent — remained under investigation, while one had proceeded to judicial review in court. The report does not identify the judicial review matter by name, although the ACC was involved in court proceedings with the National Reserve Bank of Tonga during the reporting period.
No charges had been filed and no prosecutions had commenced by the end of the reporting period.
Staff Shortages Hamper Commission
The report reveals the Commission was attempting to handle the caseload while operating with just nine staff against a recruitment target of 25.
The staffing target was officially recorded as “Not Achieved”.
The Commission identified difficulty attracting and retaining skilled investigators, legal officers and ICT specialists as one of its major internal challenges.
It was also operating without a secure Case Management System and digital evidence tools, while its small team had to manage both the establishment of the new institution and its investigative and operational workload.
Delays Cloud Fraud Investigations
The report also identified delays in information sharing with law-enforcement and oversight agencies and warned that judicial backlogs could slow corruption prosecutions.
Fraud dominated the complaints received during the year.
Fifteen of the 37 complaints — 40.5 percent — involved alleged fraud.
Seven were classified as maladministration or referrals, six involved alleged corrupt conduct and five involved alleged interference.
Two complaints involved bribery and another two involved victimisation. No money-laundering complaints were recorded.
Fraud Cases Demand Greater Focus
The Commission said the large proportion of fraud allegations pointed to a need for greater investigative focus on areas including procurement, payroll and benefits fraud and stronger information-sharing arrangements with law-enforcement agencies.
It acknowledged that its caseload was heavily concentrated at the investigation stage with few advanced outcomes.
However, the Commission said such an investigation-heavy pipeline was typical during the early development of an anti-corruption agency while staffing, standard operating procedures and forensic capability were being built.
The way complaints reached the Commission also exposed another weakness in its first-year operation.
Thirty of the 37 complaints — 81.1 percent — were made in person, while only four were received by email.
No complaints were received through the Commission’s website or by telephone.
The Commission said the figures could indicate problems with the discoverability, trust or usability of remote and anonymous reporting channels.
Where investigators uncover evidence of criminal conduct, cases are referred to the Attorney General for consideration of charges.
The Commission said it planned to recruit additional investigators and legal officers, introduce a secure digital case management system and strengthen its enforcement capability as it moved beyond its establishment phase.
