US Aid to Fiji at Risk Over Impunity for Doomsday Cult

The U.S. State Department is considering downgrading Fiji to Tier 3 in its Trafficking in Persons report due to alleged human trafficking and transnational organized crime linked to the Grace Road Group, a South Korea–origin doomsday sect operating numerous businesses in Fiji. Such a downgrade could jeopardize non-humanitarian U.S. assistance and influence multilateral financing, while Fiji has formed an inter-ministerial taskforce and is advancing joint investigations; police and prosecutors are reviewing multiple cases, including complaints from U.S. citizens alleging forced labor, violence, passport confiscation, unpaid wages, and ritualized abuse, even as the group continues expanding and leaders face legal scrutiny.