By ANNE BESTON
Thousands of dollars are missing from the accounts of a 90-year-old credit union, putting at risk the savings of dozens of workers.
The Serious Fraud Office has been asked to investigate the affairs of the Auckland Regional Staff Friendly Society, formed to cater mainly to staff of the old Auckland Regional Authority.
The Herald understands up to $200,000 is missing from the society's bank accounts.
Some members could be as much as $11,000 out of pocket.
A liquidator is now in charge.
The authority was responsible for the city's bus fleet and other utilities that were split off when it became the Auckland Regional Council.
Stagecoach bus drivers and staff make up over half the society's 500 members.
Stagecoach human resources manager Doug Longdill said about 200 of his staff were affected.
"There has been some distress. The people we are talking about are not high earners and are least able to afford any loss of this sort."
He did not know how much individual staff had lost.
Watercare Services spokesman Owen Cook said 37 staff belonged to the society and the company paid "several thousand" dollars out on their behalf weekly.
Stagecoach suspended payments two weeks ago after learning of problems with the society's administration. The money has been made available to staff as cash while the situation is clarified.
Society secretary Jennifer Bedwell said she was unable to answer questions on its future or "misappropriated funds recovery."
The Herald understands a staff member is under investigation in relation to missing funds.
The staff member resigned two weeks ago.
A long-time society member, who did not want to be named, said questions had been raised at trustee meetings for some time over the way the society was being run.
Money had been spent on a new computer when membership of the society was declining.
An insurance policy that was supposed to protect individual members against a claim for fraud was found not to have been taken out.
In its heyday in the early 1960s the society had more than 2000 members.
Fraud office director David Bradshaw said it was SFO policy to neither confirm or deny whether an investigation was underway.
But Auckland police confirmed the matter had been passed to the office.
Missing cash puts workers' savings at risk
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