The Serious Fraud Office has also recently secured convictions against 18 company directors and officials from eight finance companies that faltered or failed after the 2008 global financial crisis…. [The Companies Office National Enforcement Unit also secured many convictions against company directors for breaches of the Companies Act 1993, Financial Reporting Act 1993 etc over this period].

In politics, one lawmaker, John Banks, is on trial, fighting allegations he failed to properly report donations. Another, Maurice Williamson, recently resigned his ministerial portfolios after acknowledging he improperly contacted police about their investigation into an associate and party donor who was facing assault charges.

In business, the Serious Fraud Office is investigating kiwifruit exporter Zespri, after a subsidiary company and an independent distributor in China were each found guilty of smuggling, for underreporting imports and avoiding millions of dollars in duties.

Transparency International uses expert opinion and polling to compile its annual Corruption Perception Index, which scores each nation on its perceived level of public-sector corruption. [Read more…]