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Serious Fraud Office Act 1990

Miscellaneous provisions - Secrecy

41: Secrecy to be observed by other persons to whom protected information is disclosed under this Act

You could also call this:

"Keep secret information secret, unless you have permission to share it"

Illustration for Serious Fraud Office Act 1990

If you get protected information under this Act, you must keep it secret. You can only share it if you have permission from the right person, like the Director or the Commissioner of Inland Revenue. You can also share it if you need to for a court case about serious fraud. If you share protected information without permission, you can get in trouble. You might have to pay a fine or even go to prison. The fine can be up to $5,000 or $15,000, depending on the type of information you shared. You must be careful with protected information, like revenue information under the Tax Administration Act 1994. You can only share it if you have permission or if you need to for a court case about tax offences. Remember, you have to follow the rules to avoid getting in trouble.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM211481.

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Part 4Miscellaneous provisions
Secrecy

41Secrecy to be observed by other persons to whom protected information is disclosed under this Act

  1. No person to whom any protected information is disclosed pursuant to this Act (whether by a member of the Serious Fraud Office or by any other person) shall disclose that information in any way whatever to any other person unless the disclosure is,—

  2. in the case of information protected under section 36,—
    1. authorised by the Director; or
      1. necessary or desirable for the purposes of commencing or conducting any proceedings relating to any suspected offence involving serious or complex fraud:
      2. in the case of any revenue information protected under the Tax Administration Act 1994,—
        1. authorised by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue; or
          1. necessary for the purposes of commencing or conducting any proceedings relating to any suspected inland revenue offence:
          2. in the case of any information protected under any Act other than the Tax Administration Act 1994,—
            1. authorised by the person who disclosed the information to the Serious Fraud Office; or
              1. necessary for the purposes of commencing or conducting any proceedings relating to any suspected offence involving serious or complex fraud.

              2. Every person commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000, who knowingly contravenes subsection (1)(a) or subsection (1)(c).

              3. Every person commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding $15,000, who knowingly contravenes subsection (1)(b).

              Notes
              • Section 41(1)(b): amended, on (applying with respect to the tax on income derived in 1995–96 and subsequent income years), by section YB 1 of the Income Tax Act 1994 (1994 No 164).
              • Section 41(1)(c): amended, on , by section YB 1 of the Income Tax Act 1994 (1994 No 164).
              • Section 41(2): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
              • Section 41(3): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).