The Serious Fraud Office has confirmed it had discussions with a senior government official about the use of taxpayer funding for the America's Cup.
Team NZ on Auckland Harbour Photo: Emirates Team New Zealand
It has been almost three months since officials found no evidence of wrongdoing or fraud by Team New Zealand or its event organising arm, America's Cup Events (ACE).
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Ministry o Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) have confirmed there were discussions between them but neither will comment further.
An investigation of how Team New Zealand spent $25 million of taxpayer money did not look at what happened to just over $4m of it.
America's Cup Event (ACE) has today released a series of documents and letters to RNZ, which it says "paint quite a different story than that currently being presented".
"In the face of further defamatory and baseless allegations again being levelled at ETNZ/ACE and its Directors we feel that we must now set the record straight having tried to respect a due process in this saga all year," it said in a statement.
"We have wanted to avoid such a public condemnation of MBIE but given their moves to conceal their totally inappropriate behaviour through this protracted contractual process, we now feel obliged to release a suite of letters addressed to MBIE and Ministers which call MBIE to account for their actions."
With five weeks till racing starts, Team New Zealand chairperson Sir Stephen Tindall said the directors wanted to set the record straight.
"There's been no communication from the SFO to us whatsoever. For that reason we believe there's no investigation under way or we would have been contacted for sure."
Sir Stephen said he was concerned for the reputation of the team and event.
"This is damaging to both our team and the event and we wanted to make sure there was full transparency so we could get on with people understanding there's nothing nefarious going on and we can deliver a really good event."
Team New Zealand has today publicly released letters from July, August and September it sent to senior MBIE officials, the regatta hosts, about the investigation into the use of public funds.
The letters detail Team New Zealand's concerns about the process of the MBIE-led investigation, including months of secrecy surrounding the probe into its finances.
Sir Stephen said it appeared to be a covert operation.
"They were collecting the information from the informants who were secretly recording our meetings and were providing them with all sorts of documentation from the events and from our board meetings," he said.
"We didn't know what was going on and then we found out this had been happening for the last five months. We just could not understand that as partners in the event we weren't consulted earlier on and if we had been we could have nipped this whole thing in the bud."
It has asked the Ombudsman and State Services Commissioner to conduct an independent review of the investigation.
"We would like to think that somebody else takes a close look at this, whether it's the public services commission or the ombudsman and investigates it and it clears us," Sir Stephen said.
"The process has been absolutely torturous and we felt like we've been treated incredibly badly there's a breach of natural justice and a breach of good faith."
MBIE rejects ACE issues
In a statement, MBIE chief executive Carolyn Tremain said MBIE had treated all parties involved with due respect and rejected many of the issues raised in letters from ACE.
"MBIE received some claims regarding the 36th America's Cup and we used the contractual provisions of the Host Venue Agreement to engage Beattie Varley to undertake an audit," Tremain said.
"MBIE appointed experienced and professional forensic accountants who had the expertise and skills required to undertake the audit to verify ACE and ETNZ complied with their respective obligations under the HVA.
"As noted by Mr Horton in his statement of 17 September released by ETNZ to media, ACE has acknowledged that the approach to the provision of the required information needed for the audit was unhelpful, and that more fulsome disclosures would have helped to address the concerns Beattie Varley had raised.
"MBIE and ACE have jointly agreed to mediation around the $3 million Rule Design cost and issues of the parties acting in good faith. Mediation is the appropriate place to discuss and resolve such issues. It's expected that this mediation will occur in December and MBIE looks forward to the conclusion of this process.
"MBIE has at all times treated all parties involved in the process with due respect and strongly refutes many of the issues raised in the letter(s) from ACE.
"MBIE remains committed to playing its part to ensure the hosting of the 36th America's Cup is a successful event."
ACE director concerned
Among the documents released today is a statement from ACE director Greg Horton.
In September, he sent a document outlining his take on the investigation process to senior government officials, the prime minister, MP for Te Atatū Phil Twyford, and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff.
"We have a situation not only where allegations have not been shared for five months, but it appears that a government agency, senior officials and their auditor were working with Mayo & Calder who were without authorisation removing documents from ACE and ETNZ and were involved in secretly recording meetings," he said in the statement.
Horton said the organisation accepted the findings of the Beattie Varley report but was concerned with the process.
"The hosts levelled serious allegations against us, which quickly became public.
"The process leading up to the making of those allegations by MBIE and Auckland Council was deeply flawed. It was outside the boundaries of natural justice and good faith, as well as wholly inconsistent with an 'open and transparent' government."