Taxpayers Spent $70 Million with Fraud-Hit FujiXerox Since 2011

National Ministers have adopted "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" over FujiXerox, despite taxpayers spending $70m with the company since 2011, says New Zealand First.

“We know from Deloitte’s fraud report that bonus payments at FujiXerox skyrocketed from 2011 until it imploded last year,” says New Zealand First Leader and Member of Parliament for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“This can be seen in the government’s spend with FujiXerox shooting up 60% in the two years between 2011/12 and 2012/13. No one in government clocked $69.9m being spent over six years, with annual spending growing from $6.4m in 2011/12, to $14.6m in 2016/17.

“Staggeringly since 21 April, when significant fraud was first suspected, official replies show that Ministers have done Sweet Fanny Adams. Even after 12 June, when the half billion dollar fraud at FujiXerox was revealed, Ministers have been AWOL.

“Since 3 April, the Minister responsible for making sure taxpayers get value for money, Simon Bridges, has received two pieces of correspondence and sent just one relating to FujiXerox.

“That’s at least one more than what the Minister of Education sent. Despite school sponsorship being a key selling plank used by FujiXerox, you’d think the Minister would like to know what a $247m write-down including sponsorship, now means for many schools.

“Then again look at the Minister of Police who’s meant to be in charge of the Serious Fraud Office. She did not send a single letter or email despite the SFO giving FujiXerox an all-clear last Christmas; only four months before major fraud was suspected.

“This government’s motto should be ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’.

“Cracks are now seriously showing in the dark underbelly of government procurement,” says Mr Peters.

New Zealand First:
Calls for a public inquiry into accounting, audit and assurance standards, the Crown Agency, External Reporting Board, and the Serious Fraud Office;
Will conduct a full inquiry into government procurement; and
Has referred a complaint regarding Fuji Xerox’s former Auditor EY (formerly Ernst & Young) to Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand.

ENDS

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