新西兰国会今天三读通过一项加强严重欺诈办公室（Serious Fraud Office，SFO）执法权限的法案。司法部长 Paul Goldsmith 和警察部长 Mark Mitchell 表示，新法将帮助执法部门更有效地调查和起诉日益复杂的诈骗及腐败犯罪。

司法部长 Goldsmith 表示，诈骗每年给新西兰造成的经济损失估计达数十亿纽元，同时给无数新西兰民众和企业造成难以估量的伤害。

他说，诈骗犯罪的规模和复杂程度正在不断增加，执法部门在调查和起诉严重诈骗案件时面临越来越大的挑战。

“我们必须不断更新法律，以适应技术发展以及犯罪分子实施诈骗的方式变化。确保新西兰人不会因为法律漏洞而暴露在风险之中，是政府应承担的责任。”

Goldsmith 表示，政府虽然将减少暴力犯罪受害者作为治安政策的重要重点，但不会忽视打击所谓“白领犯罪”。

警察部长 Mark Mitchell 表示，政府致力于“修复法律与治安体系的基础”，其中包括确保执法机构拥有必要的工具，将犯罪分子绳之以法，并防止更多新西兰人成为诈骗和腐败犯罪的受害者。

SFO将获得哪些新权限？

新法将赋予严重欺诈办公室更广泛的调查和搜查权限，包括：

• 获取调查所需的数字及云端电子证据；
• 在紧急情况下通过口头方式申请搜查令；
• 由SFO自行管理搜查现场，并防止相关人员干扰调查；
• 明确警方在协助SFO执行搜查令时，可以使用《2012年搜查与监视法》赋予警方的通常权力。

政府表示，目前SFO在获取完整电子证据、时间紧迫情况下申请搜查令，以及管理搜查现场等方面存在实际困难。新法旨在减少这些程序性障碍，使SFO能够更加有效地开展调查。

非法取得的证据如何处理？

法案同时修改了有关证据可采性的规定。

法院今后将可以采用《2006年证据法》中更加现代、目前也得到广泛应用的测试标准，来决定通过非法方式取得的证据是否可以被法院采纳。

政府认为，这将使相关法律框架更加现代化，并与目前法院处理证据可采性问题的方式保持一致。

此次立法是新西兰政府加强打击诈骗、金融犯罪及腐败的重要措施之一，也反映出数字化犯罪不断发展后，新西兰执法机构需要获得与之相匹配的调查工具。

Greater powers to go after fraudsters

Legislation which provides the Serious Fraud Office with greater powers to go after criminals has passed its final reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say. 

“It’s estimated fraud in New Zealand results in billions of dollars in losses each year, and causes untold harm to countless hardworking New Zealanders and businesses,” Mr Goldsmith says. 

“We know the scale and complexity of fraud is increasing. It challenges the ability of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute the fraudsters who commit these serious crimes.

“We must regularly update our laws to adapt to advances in technology and how fraud is committed. It’s our responsibility to ensure New Zealanders aren’t left vulnerable to gaps in the law.

“Our government has a clear priority to reduce the number of victims of violent crime, but we will never neglect the fight against so-called white-collar crime,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“Our government is committed to fixing the basics in law and order, and that means ensuring law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to hold criminals to account, and to prevent more New Zealanders from becoming victims of fraud and corruption,” Mr Mitchell says.

“Currently, the SFO can experience difficulties obtaining all electronic evidence, applying for warrant when under time-pressure, and managing their own search scenes.

“We need to ensure there is no red tape preventing the SFO from doing their job and protecting New Zealanders,” Mr Mitchell says.

The Bill makes changes to provide the Serious Fraud Office with the authority to:

Obtain all necessary digital and cloud-based evidence they require.
Apply for search warrants orally.
Manage their own search sites and prevent affected parties from interfering with investigations. 

The Bill also makes changes to the evidence admissibility provisions, to enable the Courts to apply the more modern and widely applied test in the Evidence Act 2006 to determine the admissibility of unlawfully obtained evidence. 

It also makes it clear Police can use all of their usual powers under the Search and Surveillance Act 2012, when assisting the SFO to execute a warrant.