The Supreme Court has overturned a decision by the Vanuatu Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) that declared former Wanfuteng Bank CEO Mariana Lal unfit to hold her position.

The initial decision was made in 2023 by then-Acting Director of FIU, Josiah Kuatpen, under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financial Act. However, Mrs. Lal challenged the decision through a judicial review, arguing that the FIU’s ruling was unlawful and lacked sufficient justification.

In her case, Mrs. Lal claimed that the FIU did not have strong reasons to deem her unfit for the role. Although Mr. Kuatpen provided five reasons to support his decision, the court found that neither Mrs. Lal nor the bank had been given the opportunity to respond to the claims.

As a result, Supreme Court Judge Viran Trief ruled that the FIU’s decision was not made in accordance with the law. Following the judgment, Mrs. Lal has requested costs, and the court will need to make a further ruling on this matter.

Just two days after the court’s decision, the FIU underwent a leadership change, with Teddy Garae appointed as the new Director. Mr. Garae has since stated that the FIU plans to appeal the Supreme Court’s ruling.