New Zealand is moving to expand the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) powers to seize digital and cloud-based evidence, apply for search warrants orally, and take control of its own search sites.

A bill amending the office's founding law passed its first reading on April 30 and now sits with Parliament's Justice Select Committee, which reports back by August 31.

The Serious Fraud Office Act 1990 created the agency after the 1987 share market crash, modeled on Britain's Serious Fraud Office.

The office, which handled NZ$174.5 million in prosecuted cases last year, has seen complaints climb as digital fraud spreads.

What the Bill Hands the Fraud Office

The bill would let the SFO obtain the digital and cloud-based material it needs, request warrants by phone when time is short, and manage search scenes so affected parties cannot interfere.

It also confirms that police can use their usual powers under the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 when helping the SFO execute a warrant.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who introduced the bill, cast it as clearing Clearing Clearing is a general term that simply means many different things depending on the subject and related industry. Most commonly, this refers to the reciprocal exchange between banks of checks and drafts, and the settlement of the differences, or the total of claims settled at a clearinghouse. In finance and banking, the word clearing has different meanings depending on the more specific business model. Moving checks from the bank where they were deposited to the bank on which they were drawn. Th Clearing is a general term that simply means many different things depending on the subject and related industry. Most commonly, this refers to the reciprocal exchange between banks of checks and drafts, and the settlement of the differences, or the total of claims settled at a clearinghouse. In finance and banking, the word clearing has different meanings depending on the more specific business model. Moving checks from the bank where they were deposited to the bank on which they were drawn. Th Read this Term obstacles rather than adding reach.

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He said the changes would ensure "there is no red tape preventing the SFO from doing their job," citing trouble obtaining electronic evidence and applying for warrants under pressure.

The government says fraud costs New Zealand billions of dollars a year, and that offending is growing in scale and complexity.

Why Digital Evidence Sits at the Center

The push reflects a problem the SFO has raised repeatedly. Its cases now run to millions of documents, with evidence spread across cloud platforms and offshore servers.

The agency says that volume strains tools it was handed more than three decades ago.

The collapse of Auckland crypto exchange Dasset shows the stakes. After the platform went into liquidation in 2023, liquidators found roughly NZ$6.3 million in customer crypto unaccounted for.

The SFO opened an investigation that stalled partly because the exchange's chief executive has been out of contact and offshore.

Much of what investigators need in cases like that lives on third-party exchanges and cloud Cloud The cloud or cloud computing helps provides data and applications that can be accessed from nearly any location in the world so long as a stable Internet connection exists. Categorized into three cloud services, cloud computing is segmented into Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS). In terms of trading, the versatility of the cloud service allows retail traders the ability to test out new trading strategies, backtest pre-existing conc The cloud or cloud computing helps provides data and applications that can be accessed from nearly any location in the world so long as a stable Internet connection exists. Categorized into three cloud services, cloud computing is segmented into Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS). In terms of trading, the versatility of the cloud service allows retail traders the ability to test out new trading strategies, backtest pre-existing conc Read this Term services, exactly the material the bill targets.

The move tracks a wider pattern of financial-crime agencies pressing for faster access to electronic records.

New Zealand's framework, built around an analog-era statute, has lagged that shift more than most.

The Evidence Rules Draw Closer Scrutiny

Beyond the search provisions, the bill changes how courts assess evidence that was obtained unlawfully.

It would let judges apply the standard balancing test under the Evidence Act 2006, weighing the quality of the evidence, the seriousness of the offense, and whether urgency or safety shaped how it was gathered.

That is the part most likely to draw debate. Prosecutors and defense lawyers in past SFO cases have fought over admissibility.

The change moves the SFO toward the same test courts apply across the rest of the criminal system.

Public submissions closed on June 8, and the committee is now weighing them.

Bill Lands Alongside a Sharper Crypto Focus

The bill drew fresh attention this week as the SFO released its Statement of Intent for 2026 to 2030.

The strategy adds a technology priority covering virtual asset misuse, artificial intelligence, and other emerging fraud methods. Director Karen Chang said the agency "is not designed for volume, but for impact."

The SFO has also pointed to New Zealand's slide on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, from first equal in 2019 to fourth in 2025.

It cited survey data showing 10% of adults reported fraud or cybercrime in 2025, up from 8% in 2018.

For now the bill remains a proposal. What it looks like as law, if it passes, rests on the committee's recommendations after August.