Speaker of the House David Carter has turned down a request for a parliamentary debate over the Fuji Xerox NZ accounting scandal because of ‘an ongoing investigation’ into the matter.
NZ First leader and MP Winston Peters wrote to Carter requesting an urgent debate about the impact of ‘improper practices’ at Fuji Xerox NZ. An independent investigation last week reported similar accounting irregularities at Fuji Xerox Australia, leading global parent Fujifilm to estimate total losses of around $A450 million.
The Speaker declined Peters’ request for a parliamentary debate about the situation, saying there was an active investigation underway, according to stuff.co.nz.
New Zealand’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said in December 2016 that it would not pursue an investigation of the company but in April announced it would consider any new information. Last week, the SFO Office said it intends to ‘review’ the latest independent report.
Peters accused NZ Prime Minister Bill English of ‘recklessly ignoring’ the matter. “He is treating concern over one of New Zealand’s biggest frauds with disdain. Fuji executives have stepped down, the company’s ‘accounting irregularities’ have become headlines in the world’s financial capitals, and New Zealand is being portrayed as a Banana Republic, yet Fuji continues to hold the lucrative ‘all of government’ supplier contract.
“The Prime Minister has claimed New Zealand is corruption free but that does not ring true in the light of the Fuji scandal,” says Peters.
Fuji Xerox chairman Tadahito Yamamoto and three Japanese-based company executives resigned following the release of the independent investigation's findings.