The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has decided its investigation into Fuji Xerox New Zealand’s negligence allegations is no longer in the public interest and has pulled the plug on its probe.
The white collar crime investigator wasn't convinced it needed to investigate after an NBR series uncovered questionable accounting in the local subsidiary, but launched a part two investigation after a 2017 independent review by Japanese parent Fujifilm discovered $355 million of "inappropriate accounting" between 2011 and 2016 in Australia. and NZ.
SFO director Karen Chang said the law enforcement agency reached a stage where it wasn’t satisfied continuing was in the public interest.
“In assessing public interest, a key factor was the absence of any New Zealand-based or vulnerable investors,” she said in a statement.
That follows Fuji Xerox NZ, now trading as Fujifilm Business Innovation NZ, cutting a confidential deal with former auditor, Ernst & Young (EY), and former executives Neil Whittaker, Mark Allright and Gavin Pollard to settle the matter in August.
A former EY auditor admitted negligence in a professional body case against him, but retained permanent name suppression.
Chang said the matter involved a “complex range of issues” as well as a large volume of financial data. The scale of potential offending under consideration was also considered to be a fraction of the original restatement figure.
“It’s important that we focus our time and skill on the cases that matter the most to New Zealanders and their economic wellbeing,” Chang said.
