SFO lays charges alleging immigration bribes

Corruption and bribery charges laid by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) against a former immigration official and his associate were before the Auckland District Court today.

Meng Yam (Peter) Lim (64) has been charged with four counts of corruption and bribery under Section 105(1) of the Crimes Act and Kooi Leng Pan (64) has been charged with four counts as a party to the same offences under Section 66(1) of the Crimes Act.

Allegations against Mr Lim were first investigated by Immigration New Zealand where Mr Lim worked as a Border Control Officer following which the matter was referred to the SFO for investigation.

The SFO alleges that between February and April 2013 Mr Lim colluded with Ms Pan to accept $26,500 from two individuals for the provision of immigration assistance.

SFO Director, Julie Read, thanked Immigration New Zealand for their prompt referral of the matter following their internal investigation.

“The acceptance of bribes by a public official is a serious issue. New Zealand has very low levels of corruption and bribery by international standards and it is important that we maintain this good reputation by addressing those instances which do occur. Cooperation between government agencies in these matters is critical to ensure that we prevent corruption from flourishing and to protect New Zealand's reputation as a safe place to invest and do business” she said.

Mr Lim and Ms Pan were remanded without plea until the next appearance on 9 June 2015.

ENDS

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