Quake repair fraud cases under investigation

The Earthquake Commission says police are investigating 21 possible fraud cases involving the Christchurch rebuild..

EQC customer services general manager Bruce Emson said the commission's investigation unit looked into 880 cases where there were irregularities since february 2011.

"To date we have referred 21 files to the police and we now have five convictions with two hearings pending," he said.

Fraudulent claims involved falsely claiming for contents or buildings that weren't damaged in the earthquake.

And the Serious Fraud Office, which has warned the scale of fraud could run to $1 billion, also confirmed yesterday two current investigations relating to the rebuild were "progressing well."

Acting chief executive Simon McArley said the SFO had been working closely with police, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and a number of other agencies with key roles in the Christchurch rebuild.

The EQC and SFO were commenting after Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee was questioned in Parliament on Wednesday over allegations involving repair contracts in quake-shattered Canterbury.

NZ First leader Winston Peters asked Mr Brownlee what he was doing to prevent fraudulent activity.

Under parliamentary privilege, Mr Brownlee confirmed he had received allegations of fraud and "these have been directed to relevant agencies for investigation."

Mr Emson said the commission had a "zero tolerance policy" for fraud.

He said the "vast majority" of customers, contractors and staff involved in the residential rebuild were "genuine and honest."

"Unfortunately a few do deliberately attempt to cheat the system and we do have to be vigilant."

Mr Emson said EQC had a confidential investigation line where people could report suspicious activity - 0800 002 728 - and an online form on its website. All information was treated confidentially.