7 September 2023
By email to: [FYI request #23768 email]
Attention: Cameron Slater
Request for information about the cost of political donation prosecutions (CON0010246)
We refer to your request dated 10 August 2023 (submitted through the FYI website) for the
following official information in relation to the prosecution of individuals in connection with
donations made to the National, Labour and NZ First parties:
1. The total cost of the prosecutions.
2. To identify the “outside (non SFO) consultants, accounting experts and lawyers” engaged
in each of the prosecutions, with costs to be itemised.
3. Any documents “showing why the SFO required the engagement of outside
expertise/consultants rather than use their own in-house expertise”.
As advised in our letter of 23 August 2023, we have partial y transferred your request to the Crown
Law Office. In relation to the information we do hold, we have considered your request under the
Official Information Act 1982 (
OIA).
Decision
Request 1
We can confirm that the total costs incurred by the SFO to investigate and prosecute the political
party donation cases are as follows:
NZ First Foundation case (number 190884)
$98,918
National Party Donations (case 180794):
$83,708
Labour Party Donations (case 190919)
$26,914
Please note:
(a) In addition to actual costs incurred, SFO employees worked on these matters. The SFO does
not have a system to accurately record employee time spent on a matter as a billable cost.
(b) As previously advised when we transferred your request to Crown Law, under a fee
arrangement, Crown Law assumes responsibility for the costs of SFO Panel counsel from the
time of the defendants’ pleas.
Request 2
To identify third party suppliers in scope of your request, we referenced the Public Service
Commission’s guidelines on the definition of a ‘consultant’. A consultant is an individual or
consultancy company engaged in a contract for
professional advice or information, that provides
expertise in a particular field and is engaged to perform a specific piece or work with a clearly
defined scope and agreed deliverables.
We can confirm that no consultants were engaged in the above cases. We also confirm that no
external accountants were engaged.
Details of payments made to lawyers (Panel counsel) are set out in
Schedule 1 as requested.
Request 3
The Serious Fraud Office Act 1990, s 48 states that the no proceedings may be conducted on behalf
of the Director except by a member of the Serious Fraud Prosecutors Panel. A copy of s 48 is
provided at
Appendix 1.
You are entitled to make a complaint about our decision to the Office of the Ombudsman. They can
be contacted at P O Box 10152, Wel ington 6143 or at [email address].
Please note that it is our policy to proactively release our responses to official information requests
where there is a broader public interest. Our response to your request may be published at
sfo.govt.nz, with any personal information removed.
Yours sincerely
Official Information and Privacy Act Response Team
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Schedule 1
NZ First Foundation case
Panel Counsel
Amount
Katie Hogan
$31,794
John Dixon KC
$20,100
Stephen Bonnar KC
$13,350
National Party Donations
Panel Counsel
Amount
John Dixon KC
$11,250
Stephen Bonnar KC
$22,800
Labour Party Donations
Panel Counsel
Amount
John Dixon KC
$1,350
Stephen Bonnar KC
$2,250
Paul Wicks KC
$3,960
Appendix 1
Serious Fraud Office Act 1990
Miscellaneous provisions
48 Serious Fraud Prosecutors Panel
(1) There shall be a Serious Fraud Prosecutors Panel for the purpose of enabling proceedings
relating to serious or complex fraud to be taken expeditiously.
(2) That panel shall be appointed by the Solicitor-General after consultation with the Director,
and shall consist of such barristers or solicitors of the High Court as the Solicitor-General
considers appropriate.
(3) No proceedings relating to serious or complex fraud shal be conducted on behalf of the Director
except by a member of that panel.
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