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Serious Fraud Office Act 1990

Investigation of suspected offences involving serious or complex fraud

11: Power to assume from Police the responsibility for investigating certain cases of fraud

You could also call this:

"The Director can take over fraud cases from the Police to investigate."

Illustration for Serious Fraud Office Act 1990

You can think of the Director as a person in charge of a team. They can take over a case from the Police if they think it involves serious or complex fraud. The Director can ask the Police for information about the case. They want this information to help with their investigation. You might wonder what happens if the Police do not want to share the information. If this happens, the Police must tell the Director what information they are not sharing and why. The Director can then ask the Solicitor-General to make a decision about it. The Solicitor-General's decision is final and both the Director and the Police must follow it. This helps make sure the investigation is fair and thorough. It also helps the Director and the Police work together to solve the case.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM211436.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Police and safetyCrime and justice > Criminal law
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Part 2Investigation of suspected offences involving serious or complex fraud

11Power to assume from Police the responsibility for investigating certain cases of fraud

  1. The Director may, by notice in writing to the Commissioner of Police,—

  2. assume the responsibility for investigating any case that the Director believes on reasonable grounds to involve serious or complex fraud:
    1. require the Commissioner of Police to provide, as soon as reasonably practicable, any information, including Police records, that is held by the Commissioner of Police and that is relevant to the investigation of any case in respect of which the Director has assumed responsibility under this section.

      1. If the Commissioner of Police declines to provide any information that is relevant to the investigation of any such case,—

      2. the Commissioner shall forthwith inform the Director of the general nature of the information withheld and the reasons for withholding it; and
        1. the Director may refer the matter to the Solicitor-General for determination; and
          1. the determination of the Solicitor-General shall be binding on the Director and the Commissioner of Police.