Fuji Xerox - now known as FujiFilm Business Innovation - had to restate its accounts in 2017, after an independent report found irregularities amounting to $355 million. (file photo) Photo: 123rf
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has closed an investigation into the office equipment company Fuji Xerox, saying it is not in the public interest to take it further.
The probe looked at allegations that former executives at the company used "inappropriate accounting" practices to inflate its total revenue between 2011 and 2016.
The revenue figures were used in reporting to its Japanese parent company.
Fuji Xerox - now known as FujiFilm Business Innovation - had to restate its accounts in 2017, after an independent report found irregularities amounting to $355 million.
The scandal led to top executives at the company being sacked as a result, and the New Zealand Government suspended its contract with the company, but later reinstated its services.
The SFO decision comes after the company settled a civil case brought against its former auditor Ernst and Young and three of its former senior executives in August.
The agency said its investigation was carried out in stages and it refined the scope of inquiry to matters within its remit.
It said the scale of potential offending under consideration was a fraction of the original restatement figure.
"Having completed this work, we have now reached a stage where we are not satisfied that continuing this investigation is in the public interest," SFO director Karen Chang said.
"In making this decision we considered the high evidential standard needed for commencing criminal charges, the time and resources still required to complete the investigation, as well as the scale of potential offending that would fall within our remit."
A key factor in assessing public interest was the absence of any New Zealand-based or vulnerable investors, Chang said.
"As the new director of the SFO, I am taking a fresh look at where we apply our specialist resources and where we can make the most impact in the current environment," she said.
"It's important that we focus our time and skill on the cases that matter the most to New Zealanders and their economic well-being."
