Links to two judgments in the SFO's NZ First Foundation case

Case name

New Zealand First Party v The Director of the Serious Fraud Office No 2Case number

[2020] NZHC 2528Date of Judgment

25 September 2020Summary

Leave to appeal is granted and interim suppression orders were continued until 5pm Tuesday 29 September 2020 unless extended by the Court of Appeal.Case name

New Zealand First Party v The Director of the Serious Fraud OfficeCase number

[2020] NZHC 2502Date of Judgment

24 September 2020Summary

The Director of the Serious Fraud Office intends to issue a public statement about criminal charges it has filed following its investigation into the New Zealand First Foundation. The two defendants are not Ministers, sitting MPs, candidates at the election or members of their staff. The NZ First Party applies for orders prohibiting the Director from issuing the statement until after a government has been formed following the General Election. I accept there is a risk of confusion and a negative impact on NZ First's electoral prospects from the statement. But I decline the application because the public interest in transparency outweighs the inconvenience to NZ First.