Office will inquire into serious fraud

Press, 11 July 1989, Page 8

Office will inquire into serious fraud

By

PETER LUKE

in Wellington

A 25-person Serious Fraud Office, based in Auckland, should be opened by the middle of next year, the AttorneyGeneral, Mr Palmer, announced yesterday. Legislation to set up the new office will soon be before Parliament, after Cabinet approval of its structure, operation and . funding. The office was expected to cost about $2.2 million this financial year, and $3.9 million in 199091, said Mr Palmer. He said the need for a specialist agency to deal effectively with the complex transactions encountered in some business deals had been highlighted in a number of recent substantial collapses. “It is clear that conventional policing methods and structures are not the most effective and efficient response to this problem. A range of investigative and professional skills are needed to investigate matters of such a sophisticated nature.” The office, based on the British Serious Fraud Office, will have up to 25 staff with clerical and administrative support. They'-will include lawyers and Aaccountants as well as other experts orTparticu-

lar cases. Some serving police officers will work in the office, either as seconded staff or on particular cases. Legislation will make the office responsible for investigating and prosecuting substantial fraudulent offending, especially that involving companies. The Justice Department’s corporate fraud unit will be disbanded, with the main fraud inquiries from its caseload going to the Serious Fraud Office. A new companies-investigation branch in the department’s commercial affairs division will continue the division’s work in investigating and winding up insolvent businesses. Mr Palmer said he hoped that most of the commercial fall-out from the sharemarket crash and the dubious entrepreneurial activity all too prevalent in that market had been seen, but fraud still could be the “crime of the future.” The office will have its main base in Auckland, with a smaller one in Wellington. An ad hoc Ministerial committee will oversee co-operation between the various agencies regarding the office. The committee will be made up of the Ministers ’ of Police, Inland Revenue, Customs and