New Zealand's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) reported that the Court of Appeal has dismissed the Crown’s appeal in the prosecution of former CBL Insurance Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Peter Harris and former Chief Financial Officer Carden Mulholland. The ruling leaves in place the September 2023 not-guilty verdicts on the SFO’s charges. Leave to appeal had been granted in October 2023 to consider two questions of law relating to Charge 1 against Harris and Charge 8 against Mulholland and Harris. The Court of Appeal’s judgment of 2 April 2026 found the High Court did not err. The SFO pointed to CBL’s 2018 collapse, when it had a market valuation of just under $750 million, and linked the case to its focus on investigating alleged corporate fraud that could undermine confidence in businesses, regulatory systems and financial controls.
Serious Fraud Office 2026-04-07
New Zealand's Serious Fraud Office reports Court of Appeal dismissal of Crown appeal in CBL Insurance case
New Zealand’s Serious Fraud Office reported that the Court of Appeal has dismissed the Crown’s appeal in the prosecution of former CBL Insurance executives Peter Harris and Carden Mulholland, leaving in place the September 2023 not-guilty verdicts. The Court of Appeal found the High Court had not erred on two questions of law related to specific charges, in a case the Serious Fraud Office linked to CBL’s 2018 collapse and its focus on alleged corporate fraud affecting confidence in businesses and financial controls.