SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Serious Fraud Office’s crime blind spot highlighted in SSC Review

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The Serious Fraud Office does not have the ability to proactively target serious financial crime, and preventing this offending is probably better done by other agencies, says a Government-commissioned review.

When SFO director Julie Read took up her post last year she told the Herald the agency would like to be a “bit more proactive”.

Asked if the SFO’s more reactive approach would change, Read said this would be partly answered by a State Services Commission review, which was issued this week.

The report says the justice sector is focusing more on crime prevention.

But lead reviewer Debbie Francis said that while better access to intelligence could support earlier detection of financial crime, preventive activity was not supported by the SFO’s statutory mandate and was “probably better done by others”.

Francis said the SFO did not have the ability to develop a current, medium or long-term view of possible threats, and this was required to “proactively target high priority serious financial crime and corruption”.

The strongest “preventive element” of the SFO’s activity was the deterrent effect of its investigations and successful prosecutions.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11262890 [Read more…]

Verbal abuse of kids ‘an offence’

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Calling your 10-year-old daughter a whore should be recognised as a crime in the same way smacking is, a veteran police officer says.

Detective Sergeant David Beattie, of New Plymouth, is fronting a call for legislation that recognises psychological abuse as an offence.

This type of abuse was often worse than physical violence and had longer lasting implications for the victims, Beattie said.

“I have examples of a father calling his 10-year-old daughter a “little whore” for misbehaving and the F word and the C word being regularly levelled at children,” he said.

“What I’m suggesting is that this is a more serious offence than smacking yet legislation does not reflect that. It’s not about criminalising parents but protecting children.”

As it stands using obscene and offensive language towards a child is only a criminal offence when there is a protection order in place.

“I would like to see it as an offence to use this language towards a child under the age of 14 and to summons the parent to court.”

Penalties could include compulsory attendance of parenting courses, he said. “If parents have to do several of these to get the message, it’s money well spent.”

For full story go to: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/10091117/Verbal-abuse-of-kids-an-offence

Judge backs blogger’s fight against fraud – Auckland District Court decision King vs Taylor

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A fraudster’s victim who fought back has won a landmark battle to name and shame the man who scammed him and dozens of others. The Sunday Star Times (p. A5) in its report today describes the anti-fraud campaigner Steve Taylor as an “Online hero” (caption  below his colour photo).

Re: Auckland District Court decision by Judge DM Wilson QC dated 24 April 2014  – Grant Norman King (Applicant) vs Stephen Dylan Taylor (Respondent) CIV -2014-004-000122

Lawyer Madeleine Flannagan, who advised [Steve] Taylor and has been the victim of online harassment herself, said the judge’s decision showed free speech was alive and well.

She said the unique nature of the case, setting a new precedent in harassment laws, meant it was already being used by media law professors at Auckland University.

Taylor’s website [http://www.grantnormanking.com/] also resulted in King being punished. Since setting up the website, Taylor said more than 70 victims had come forward, across a 32-year span, claiming losses of more than $3 million.

As a result, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Ministry of Social Development began their own investigations, which ultimately led to eight convictions against King for fraud. According to Taylor’s timeline, the pattern of dishonesty started when King was convicted of receiving stolen vehicles in 1982.

See Full story by Rob Kid published 25/05/14

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10081333/Judge-backs-bloggers-fight-against-fraud
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David Ian Henderson – his latest bankruptcy and FTG Trustee Services Ltd

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Dave Henderson [David Ian Henderson], twice-bankrupt Christchurch property developer, remains a bankrupt and yet he is listed on the Companies Office website as owning 100 shares (100%) in FTG Trustee Services Ltd, a company of which he is sole director, and which currently owns 16 companies (see list below).
Is it lawful for Mr Henderson to continue to own these shares while a bankrupt? Should not the Official Assignee (OA) secure them on behalf of creditors and sell them, given that Henderson had gross personal debts of about $165m and $86m after the sale of secured assets, at the time the High Court in Christchurch imposed bankruptcy for the second time on him on 29 November 2010? (He was bankrupted in 1996 for three years). Are these shares not vested in the OA from the commencement of Henderson’s bankruptcy? If not why not?
These questions can best be answered by first examining The Insolvency Act 2006  –

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Finance director property forfeited

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A High Court judge has ordered property connected to a failed finance company director is to be forfeited.

Police took unprecedented action last year to restrain assets they said were associated with two jailed Capital + Merchant Finance directors, Neal Nicholls and Wayne Douglas….

This followed a Serious Fraud Office trial where both men were found guilty of theft by a person in a special relationship for loans totalling almost $20 million. The men were also sentenced for misleading investors.

They loaned money for their own benefit in breach of Capital + Merchants trust deed. C+M collapsed in 2007 owing $167 million to investors.

See Full story by Hamish Fletcher published 23 May 2014:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11260648