Fiji's ex-central bank governor and the leader of the Unity Fiji political party, Savenaca Narube, said he's concerned about the "close ties" of the government with the Korean end-of-times Christain sect, Grace Road.
In a statement to RNZ Pacific, Mr Narube said Unity Fiji has seen the rapid expansion of Grace Road sect into sectors that are reserved for Fiji citizens and companies.
He said they have been informed of the rapid processing of the sect's business applications compared to others.
Last week investigative journalism organisations, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Korean Centre for Investigative Journalists revealed that a rapid expansion of the controversial Grace Road Church business empire in Fiji had been aided by the the FijiFirst government's help.
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The two groups have revealed that Grace Road, whose leader Ok-joo Shin is in a Korean prison for "assault, child abuse, and imprisoning church members" and whose top executives remain under international police warrants, has received at least FJ$8.5 million in loans from the Fiji Development Bank since 2015.
Grace Road now runs dozens of businesses in Fiji.
Narube, the former head of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, said members of the Grace Road sect are taking up jobs that would "easily filled by locals."
With the 2022 Fijian elections looming, Narube said if his Unity Fiji party forms government it will investigate the ties between the government and Grace Road.
