The Serious Fraud Office has commenced a number of inquiries into alleged abuse of the Government’s COVID-19 Wage Subsidy.

Serious Fraud Office Director Julie Read, said the allegations relate to multiple complex cases of potential fraud that have been referred to the agency following extensive investigations by the Ministry of Social Development

Last year, the SFO received funding from the Government to specifically tackle fraud arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investigating allegations of serious abuse of the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy meets the mandate for that funding.

Read said “we are pleased to be supporting the extensive work already being undertaken by MSD in response to abuse of the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy, by contributing the expertise of our specialist investigative teams to look into cases of a particularly challenging and complex nature.”