The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), together with the Police, has joint responsibility for investigating a range of bribery and corruption matters that can include secret commissions, ‘kickbacks’ and other forms of unlawful payments. The payment of these types of bribes is not only illegal under New Zealand law – it is also a crime to pay bribes to public officials in other countries. 

While the SFO is the primary referral agency for cases of bribery or corruption, we jointly assess such matters with the Police. The cases we investigate are typically matters that involve complex financial trails or public officials. Other cases will usually be dealt with by the Police. 

Any or all of the following may be indicative of corrupt or unlawful payments:

• Abnormal cash payments
• Pressure exerted for payments to be made urgently or ahead of schedule
• Payments made through a third party country (i.e. goods or services supplied to country A with payment to a shell company in country B)
• Payments made to a third party with no apparent connection with a commercial transaction
• Payments made to a private account or private address
• Abnormally high commission percentage paid to an agency (this may be split into two accounts for the same agent, often in different jurisdictions)
• Private meetings with public contractors or companies tendering for contracts
• Lavish gifts or other forms of hospitality
• Individuals who never take time off, even if ill, or insist on dealing with specific contractors themselves
• Unexpected or illogical decisions in accepting projects or contracts
• Unusually smooth process of cases where individuals do not have the expected level of knowledge or expertise
• Ignoring normal decision-making processes or delegated powers in specific cases
• Agreeing to contracts that aren’t favourable to the organisation
• Unexplained preference for certain contractors during a tendering period
• Avoidance of independent checks on tendering or contracting processes
• Bypassing normal tendering/contractors procedures
• Agreeing to invoices in excess of a contract without reasonable cause
• Missing documents or records of meetings or decisions

If you’re suspicious about the true nature of a commercial transaction in which you are involved, you can contact the Serious Fraud Office on 0800 109 800 or by e-mailing complaints@sfo.govt.nz. Any information received will be treated in strict confidence.