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The cost of the multi-million dollar fraud of the Otago District Health Board has been revealed as higher than previously thought.
Former chief information officer Michael Swann and his friend and business associate Kerry Harford were found guilty in December of the $16.9 million fraud of the DHB.
Both are awaiting sentencing in the High Court next month.
But figures released by the DHB to the Otago Daily Times show the board also paid $1.3 million in legal fees and other expenses relating to the case - pushing the total cost up to $18.2 million.
The $1.3m comprised $890,000 in legal costs and $420,000 in other costs such as the detection, storage, security and valuation of the guilty pair's assets.
Included in the figure is the cost of returning a yacht of Swann's from Fiji to New Zealand.
Health Minister Tony Ryall has asked the board's chairman Richard Thomson to resign over the fiasco - a request he has refused.
Mr Ryall has said he is now considering whether to sack Mr Thomson.
Mr Thomson is an elected member of the board, meaning he could remain as a board member even if he was sacked as chairman.
- NZPA
