A "culture of obfuscation" prevailed at South Canterbury Finance before its $1.6b govt bailout, where directors talked about dealing with "smoke and mirrors" and "half truths".

A throwaway comment at a law conference last week by the boss of the Serious Fraud Office has delayed the start of the South Canterbury Finance fraud trial.

The trial of three former heads of South Canterbury Finance in what is alleged to be New Zealand's biggest ever fraud case begins in Timaru today.

The Serious Fraud Office trial of South Canterbury Finance's chief executive and two of the failed firm's directors is due to begin in Timaru on Wednesday.

Defence denies former mayor helped form a plan to solicit funds in contravention of Belgrave Finance's trust deed.

A former mayor and lawyer is accused of helping a property developer hide his identity so he could borrow millions from a failed finance company.

A fraudster who stole $350,000 of ratepayer money faces court action to have a deportation order enforced so he can be sent back to South Africa.

A group charged by the SFO for allegedly operating a $1.6m ad invoice scam don't want the case transferred to the High Court.

Repayments to investors in Aorangi Securities, one of the failed vehicles formerly run by Allan Hubbard, have climbed to 92 cents in the dollar.

A third of Kiwi businesses admit being victims of crime, however the real figure is probably much higher, a private investigator says.

A Labour party candidate in Auckland's first Super City elections will serve five months' community detention for his involvement in New Zealand's first electoral fraud.

A finance company's attempt to chase down a $300,000 loan taken out by a now-bankrupt and struck-off lawyer has been knocked back by a High Court judge

Auckland property developer Malcolm Mayer has been sent to jail for 6 years for a $47m mortgage fraud.

A New Zealand businessman lured to Europe in a $240 million email scam made a last minute complaint to police that led to some of the fraudsters being arrested.

Police are racing to catch a mystery man whose dealings have left several motel owners and duped tourists thousands of dollars out of pocket.

People accessing sensitive information on their emails using unsecured public Wi-Fi could be putting themselves at risk of fraud, says the Banking Ombudsman.

Former SAC Capital Advisors LP fund manager Mathew Martoma, who was found guilty in the most lucrative insider-trading scheme ever, is to be sentenced on June 10.

A deaf Japanese composer has apologised for betraying his fans after admitting that he paid a "ghost composer" musician to write his pieces for him.

Stephen Versalko, the ASB Bank fraudster who stole $18 million, will be released from prison this month, but his wife has moved on.

The banker who stole $18 million from clients is "deeply remorseful and ashamed" about his offending, according to the Parole Board report which confirms his release.

A repeat pilot impersonator sentenced to 300 hours' community work for flying a plane without a license has had an appeal against his sentence dismissed.

The country's market regulator wants to withdraw a disciplinary complaint against fraudster David Ross.

A victim of an "incompetent" foreign exchange trader whose scheme inflicted losses of about $1.5m says his quality of life took a hit when his "significant" portfolio vanished.

The Child Cancer Foundation said it had received reports that scammers are phoning members of the public throughout New Zealand claiming to be collecting donations.

Earthquake claim fraudsters are still being hunted down almost three years on from the city's devastating quakes.