Chief of Customs for the last three years Moetului Sipili Fuiava stepped down from that positions effective yesterday March 28.
This was announced in a memo from Treasurer Ueli Tonumaipea dated March 28,
It said, “After three years of service, Moetului Sipili Fuiava has decided to step down effective March 28.
Moetului has accepted another position with the Department of Treasury.”
The memo does not say what the new position is.
Since his appointment, Moetului, a federal government retiree, has been a controversial figure because of his outwardly tough stance.
He was not popular with importers who felt that Moetului had free reign to interpret excise and customs laws, and at times he would contradict the position of the Attorney General’s Office.
Some business owners complained that Moetului played favorites with certain importers when it came to payment of excise taxes. They claimed that he would allow certain companies to make installment payments while he required others to pay all due excise taxes up front or their containers would not be released.
Treasurer Tonumaipe’a thanked Chief Moetului for his service and leadership and wished him great success on his new role to “support the work and efforts of the Treasury Department.”
The memo said a permanent replacement for the Chief of Customs will be assigned soon.
The Treasurer said that in the interim all questions should be directed to Deputy Treasurer Keith Gebauer until a permanent replacement is made.
