The Serious Fraud Office is considering today’s judgment in the NZ First Foundation matter.

The defendants, who were found not guilty, had been charged by the SFO with using a fraudulent scheme to obtain control over donations intended for the NZ First Party. The SFO had alleged that the defendants deceived the NZ First Party and secretaries, and by extension the Electoral Commission and voting public, by having $750,000 in Party donations paid into non-Party bank accounts.

The Court concluded that the donors intended the $750,000 in question to go to the party, but because the funds were not deposited into the party’s account the Court held they were not party donations under the Electoral Act. Thus the defendants were not required to transmit that money to the party and so were not guilty of failing to do so. The court acknowledged however that if they had been party donations, then there was “comprehensive evidence” that the defendants engaged in a dishonest scheme intending to deceive the party and its secretary, as charged by the SFO.

The Court also found that if they were party donations, although the defendants had acted dishonestly the Crown had not disproved that they may have believed they were entitled to retain the money.

“New Zealanders are fortunate to live in a country with a robust democracy and a reputation for transparency, integrity and low levels of corruption. The SFO is tasked with safeguarding that reputation and it is a role we take very seriously. We believe there was real value in bringing this case and shining a light on the conduct in question,” says SFO Director Karen Chang.

“The Government recently announced changes to our electoral law including increasing transparency around political donations. An independent review of New Zealand’s electoral law is ongoing and we will provide input into this as appropriate.”

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