Serious Fraud Office Act 1990

• Jurisdiction: New Zealand
• Citation: 1990 No 51
• Reference: 1990 No 51
• Record Number: DLM210989
• Act Number: 51
• Type of Document: Act

Contenidos

• Serious Fraud Office Act 1990
• Preamble
• Contents
• 1 Short Title
• 2 Interpretation
• 3 Act to bind the Crown
• Part 1
• 4 Exercise of powers under this Part
• 5 Power to require production of documents
• 6 Power to obtain search warrant
• Part 2
• 7 Exercise of powers under this Part
• 8 Factors to which Director may have regard
• 9 Power to require attendance before Director, production of documents, etc
• 10 Power to obtain search warrant
• 11 Power to assume from Police the responsibility for investigating certain cases of fraud
• Part 3
• 12 Effect of warrant
• 13 Return of documents
• 14 Disclosure of previous applications
• 15 Persons by whom warrant may be executed
• 16 Production of warrant
• 17 Notice that warrant has been executed, etc
• 18 Form and content of notices
• 19 Possession of documents
• 20 Review of Director's decisions
• 21 Effect of proceedings
• 22 Effect of final decision that exercise of powers unlawful
• 23 Act to apply to persons with duty of confidentiality to clients
• 24 Legal professional privilege
• 25 Certain provisions not to apply to Police, Inland Revenue, and Statistics Department officers
• 26 Admissibility of evidence
• 27 Privilege against self-incrimination no excuse
• 28 Admissibility of self-incriminating statements
• Part 4
• 29 Responsible Minister
• 30 Independence in matters relating to investigations
• 31 Chief executive of Serious Fraud Office
• 32 Judicial notice of signature of Director
• 33 Delegation of functions or powers
• 34 Exercise of powers by outside investigators
• 35 Indemnity
• 36 Secrecy of certain information relating to Serious Fraud Office business
• 37 Secrecy of information protected under Inland Revenue Department Act 1974
• 38 Disclosure to Serious Fraud Office of information protected under other Acts
• 39 Secrecy of information protected under other Acts
• 40 Obligation to inform that protected information is secret
• 41 Secrecy to be observed by other persons to whom protected information is disclosed under this Act
• 42 Authorisations to disclose protected information
• 43 Protected information may cease to be secret
• 44 Persons ceasing to be members of Serious Fraud Office under continuing obligation of secrecy
• 45 Offence to obstruct investigation, etc
• 46 Offence to destroy, alter, or conceal records, etc
• 47 Offence to resist search
• 48 Serious Fraud Prosecutors Panel
• 49 No obligation to investigate, etc
• 50 Exercise of powers not precluded by certain matters
• 51 Agreements with overseas agencies
• 52 Giving of notices
• 53 Regulations
• 54 Amendment to Summary Proceedings Act 1957
• 55 Amendment to Inland Revenue Department Act 1974
• 56 Amendments to Wanganui Computer Centre Act 1976
• Schedules
• Schedule Amendments to Wanganui Computer Centre Act 1976
• 1 General
• 2 Legal status
• 3 Editorial and format changes
• 4 Amendments incorporated in this consolidation

Serious Fraud Office Act 1990

The Parliamentary Counsel Office has made editorial and format changes to this version using the powers under subpart 2 of Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019.

Note 4 at the end of this version provides a list of the amendments included in it.

This Act is administered by the Ministry of Justice.

Preamble

An Act—ato facilitate the detection and investigation by the Serious Fraud Office of cases of serious or complex fraud; andbto enable proceedings relating to such fraud to be taken expeditiously; andcto provide for matters incidental upon the establishment of the Serious Fraud Office

Contents

1 Short Title

This Act may be cited as the Serious Fraud Office Act 1990.

2 Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

corporation means a body of persons, whether incorporated or not, and whether incorporated or established in New Zealand or elsewhere

designated member means the Director and any other employee of the Serious Fraud Office who is designated by the Director as a person whose position in the Office enables him or her to exercise the powers conferred by this Act

Director means the Director of the Serious Fraud Office

document means a document in any form whether signed or initialled or otherwise authenticated by its maker or not; and includes—

1. any writing on any material:

2. any information recorded or stored by means of any tape recorder, computer, or other device; and any material subsequently derived from information so recorded or stored:

3. any label, marking, or other writing that identifies or describes any thing of which it forms part, or to which it is attached by any means:

4. any book, map, plan, graph, or drawing:

5. any photograph, film, negative, tape, or other device in which 1 or more visual images are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced

employee, in relation to the Serious Fraud Office,—

1. means the Director and any other person employed by the Serious Fraud Office, whether paid by salary, wages, or otherwise:

2. includes, for the period of his or her secondment, any person seconded to the Serious Fraud Office from any other department or other employer:

3. does not include a person appointed under section 34

information includes data, documents, and forecasts

inland revenue offence means—

1. any offence against any Act specified in Schedule 1 of the Tax Administration Act 1994; and

2. any offence against any Act in relation to any tax imposed or payable, or any refund made or claimed, under any of the Acts specified in Schedule 1 of the Tax Administration Act 1994

Judge means any Judge of the High Court or the District Court

member, in relation to the Serious Fraud Office,—

1. means any employee of the Serious Fraud Office; and

2. includes, for the purposes of any particular investigation, any person who is deemed to be a member in accordance with section 34(2)

person includes a body of persons whether incorporated or not

place includes any premises, building, aircraft, ship, carriage, vehicle, box, or receptacle

prescribed means prescribed by regulations made under this Act

protected information means any information that is protected from disclosure—

1. under section 36; or

2. under the Tax Administration Act 1994; or

3. under any other Act,—

4. information that has been lawfully released under any other Act in circumstances where the person to whom it has been released is under no obligation to...