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The Serious Fraud Office says it will begin immediately to assess whether an investigation into donations intended for the New Zealand First Party is warranted.
Party leader and Foreign Minister Winston Peters last night attacked Act leader Rodney Hide for having lodged a complaint yesterday with the SFO, calling him a "political dwarf in a yellow jacket".
And Mr Peters said vested interests had been offering big money for any dirt on him in order to keep his party from power.
Prime Minister Helen Clark would not speculate on what would happen to Mr Peters' position if an investigation were begun.
"That's hypothetical, but the fact that another agency is looking into a matter is not in itself evidence of wrongdoing."
Complaints about trust funding to the National Party were investigated in 2002 but no criminal wrongdoing was established.
The investigation was the result of allegations made in Parliament by Mr Peters, who questioned whether former National president Geoff Thompson had used a donation from bankers Fay Richwhite in 1996 to get his company out of trouble.
In Mr Hide's complaint, he referred to stories that had appeared in the Herald and the Dominion Post relating to donations.
The Herald revealed emails showing Owen Glenn believed he had given a donation to New Zealand First. It was later revealed that $100,000 of his money paid off a Peters legal bill.
The Dominion Post has run stories about hefty donations from the Vela brothers to New Zealand First. And it showed that property magnate Sir Robert Jones had given $25,000 to the Spencer Trust for the New Zealand First Party at the 2005 election and is seeking assurances that the money met its destination.
Mr Peters was out of the country for much of the past two weeks and had promised to give "all the answers" this week but has failed to do so. He has said nothing unlawful occurred and that everything required to be disclosed had been.
The SFO director and chief executive Grant Liddell said the Hide complaint involved "a matter of legitimate public interest which warrants prompt consideration".
The complaint would be assessed on its merits and the assessment process would begin immediately.
Mr Peters yesterday described what amounted to a conspiracy against him and his party by "backers of privatisation".
They were behind a campaign of character assassination, though few journalists knew it.
"They want to manipulate who is in Government for their own purposes."
He told Parliament that over the past few months "we had been warned about attacks coming our way".
Mr Peters said he was warned as recently as July 21, at his mother's funeral.
"We were told there's a pot of money for more dirt on Peters and New Zealand First."
Mr Peters said there had been a "flood of misinformation" and that included constant reporting that he had "denied" something when he had refused to answer a question.
