22 July 2015

Immigration official pleads guilty to bribery

A former immigration official and his associate have pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court today to corruption and bribery charges laid by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

Meng Yam (Peter) Lim pleaded guilty to four charges of corruption and bribery of an official and Kooi Leng Pan pleaded guilty to four charges as a party to the same offences.

An internal investigation at Immigration New Zealand was referred to the SFO in August 2013.

Mr Lim worked as a Border Control Officer and between February and April 2013 Mr Lim colluded with Ms Pan to corruptly accept $26,500 from two individuals, purportedly for the provision of immigration assistance.

SFO Director, Julie Read said, “Bribery is bad for New Zealand businesses and citizens and bad for New Zealand Inc. This is plain in the case where a bribe is paid to secure a contract – but a bribe paid to circumvent the rules also causes significant harm. The rules, whether they are about immigration or anything else, are intended to apply to everyone equally. Circumvention of the rules undermines any fairness in society. The SFO is committed to ensuring that corruption does not flourish and will pursue cases such as this to send that message to all those who may be tempted to engage in corrupt conduct.”

Mr Lim and Ms Pan will reappear for sentencing on 10 September 2015.

ENDS

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