The two major parties of New Zealand, Labour and National, are embroiled in a political donation fraud scandal after it was revealed that six people made illegal and deceptive donations to both parties.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), New Zealand’s leading agency for investigating and prosecuting serious financial crime, has combined two cases together.
One case focuses on two $100,000 (US$60,000) donations to National in 2017 and 2018, and the other on an allegedly sham Labour art auction where five paintings were bought for $60,000 (US$37,000).
Parties must report details of all political donations over $15,000 (US$9,000) in New Zealand, but these donations were split among numerous fake donors to bypass the disclosure limit….