Fuji Xerox taking ex-NZ bosses to court

More than $350 million in accounting irregularities were found at the company. Photo / 123RF

Fuji Xerox has filed proceedings against former New Zealand senior executives after more than $350 million in accounting irregularities were found at the company.

The company said in a statement today that Fuji Xerox New Zealand, Fuji Xerox Finance and their parent shareholder, Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific, had filed civil proceedings in the High Court at Auckland against former senior executives from the New Zealand end of the operation. It did not name those facing the court action.

"Fuji Xerox is committed to resolving these past issues and ensuring they do not happen again," Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific Pte chief executive Isamu Sekine said.

"Customers can be confident that Fuji Xerox New Zealand is committed to running its business in a principled way and will continue to lead the market in the delivery of print, document management and business optimisation solutions."

Fuji Xerox's contacts with the Government are on hold and a voluntary suspension was extended earlier this month. The suspension means the company isn't able to take on any new contracts in the public sector, but will continue its current work.

The company provided printer and office supply services to Government agencies and the suspension will be reviewed again in October.

The Government spent $55m with the company between 2012 and 2016, according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE).

Japanese parent company Fujifilm in June released an independent report which revealed "inappropriate accounting" in operations in New Zealand and Australia amounting to roughly $355 million between 2011 and 2016.

The New Zealand business earlier said it takes the findings "very seriously and is committed to resolving past issues and ensuring that there is no recurrence".