Vanuatu's Ombudsman finds a minister had a conflict of interest in renting his property to the national tourism office and recommends prosecution
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In a report released in April 2026, Vanuatu's Office of the Ombudsman found that Minister Xavier Harry had a conflict of interest when he entered a tenancy agreement with the Vanuatu Tourism Office (VTO), because the payments would help his VT10 million loan with Bred Bank. According to the Daily Post's account of the report, payments went to Island Dream Housing, a company owned by the minister. The report added that the minister breached the Leadership Code Act by failing to disclose his interest in the arrangement, and recommended that the Prime Minister consider moving the minister from his current portfolio and that the minister be prosecuted. The report contains responses from the tourism office, the minister and others named as evidence. The report is a finding by the Ombudsman, not a court judgment, and reporting reviewed does not show whether the Prime Minister has acted or a prosecution has begun. The Daily Post said it could not obtain comment from the minister or the Prime Minister's Office.
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