The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption received a total of 4,365 complaints from the general public in 2009 which was an increase of 1,998 compared to the previous year.

In its 2009 annual report released this afternoon, FICAC reveals that it was able to resolve a total of 1,884 complaints in all three divisions through various mediation processes.

The report also showed that in 2009, FICAC laid a total of 161 charges against 47 individuals out of which 41 cases were taken to court and they managed to successfully prosecute eight cases, where convictions were handed down by the courts.

The FICAC report also highlights that the most prevalent cases handled by FICAC involved uttering forged documents where 29 charges were laid against individuals.

FICAC's records also show that extortion by public officers and abuse of office were still a major concern as 12 charges were laid against public servants on both crimes, while 29 charges involved forgery and 14 charges were laid against people for obtaining money by virtue of forged instruments.

Meanwhile, the most number of complaints were received at the FICAC office in Suva totalling 1,761 while 1,369 complaints were received at their Labasa office and 1,235 complaints at the Lautoka Office.