KEY POINTS:
Rich Lister Sir Bob Jones has been interviewed by Serious Fraud Office staff deciding whether to launch a full investigation into the New Zealand First donations row.
Sir Bob declined to comment, but well-placed sources told the Herald on Sunday he met two investigators this week to discuss a $25,000 donation to the party.
The money ended up in the Spencer Trust, which is administered by Wayne Peters, the brother of New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.
Jones has twice written to the party demanding to know what happened to the money and has threatened to go to the police if he receives another "evasive" answer.
Questions have also been raised over a $100,000 donation to New Zealand First by billionaire Owen Glenn and donations from the Vela family. Parliament's privileges committee is also seeking answers from Peters over the Glenn donation and will sit on August 18.
Peters has vehemently denied any wrongdoing by himself or his party. When asked by the Herald On Sunday yesterday if the SFO had been in touch, he replied: "You'll have to ask them". Asked if he expected to be interviewed by the SFO he repeated: "You'll have to ask them".
Meanwhile, the man whose complaint launched the SFO action, Act leader Rodney Hide, said he had more evidence to hand to investigators.
"There are people in New Zealand First who have been alarmed that large amounts of money have been passed across and appear not to have made it to the bank account. They have been in contact with me. It's pretty serious."
SFO director Grant Liddell said it could take weeks to decide whether to launch a full investigation.
"The process involves considering the complaint and relevant available documentary or other material," he said.
"The complaint involves a matter of legitimate public interest which warrants prompt consideration."
Liddell said the assessment would look at:
- The suspected nature and consequences of the fraud.
- The suspected scale of the fraud.
- The legal, factual and evidential complexity of the matter.
- Any relevant public interest considerations.
"The receipt of a complaint does not, in itself, mean that an investigation will follow," he added.
