SFO will try to detect financial crime in its infancy

Adam Feeley, head of the Serious Fraud Office. Photo / NZ Herald

The Serious Fraud Office says it will be more proactive in trying to detect serious crimes before the damage is done.

SFO chief executive Adam Feeley told a parliamentary select committee today the office wanted to find more cases of serious financial crime off its own bat this year.

"You'll never stop crime before it happens, but you can potentially stop crime earlier. Financial crime is generally a recurring crime _ someone commits a fraud again and again and again.

"If we can intervene earlier, almost certainly we will reduce the impact of losses, particularly the financial losses.''

Mr Feeley said the test for pursuing a prosecution was generally a high financial threshold of about $2 million, with other factors including public interest, the number of individuals affected, and cases of public corruption or bribery.

Asked about the fact some of those involved in the stock market crash of the 1980s were also involved in the finance company collapses of late last decade, he said there had been a "double cycle'' of white-collar crime.

Speaking outside the committee, Mr Feeley said there was still one more failed finance company in its sights and an announcement was a week or two away.

The company was not among those that collapsed in 2006 to 2008, but had failed more recently.

Mr Feeley told the committee the SFO would like to see more attention focussed on recidivist fraudsters.

He cited a Harvard University study that found the recidivism rate for white-collar crime was about 68 per cent - well in excess of a typical recidivism rate.

Mr Feeley said some countries like the United Kingdom issued orders that prohibited certain behaviours or required reporting mechanisms to be put in place.

"We should look at all the remedies being used around the world, get some idea of are they succeeding there, could they succeed in New Zealand and what might be the best options,'' he said.

"One always has to ask the question, is charging people and getting a conviction and putting them in jail working? I think in some cases the answer is yes.''

Mr Feeley said for someone from an affluent suburb who wore a suit and drove a nice car, the prospect of spending time behind bars was "probably more intimidating than to some other people in the community''.