Former Westland District Council group manager of district assets Vivek Goel has been found guilty of 20 corruption-related charges after an eight-week trial at the Christchurch High Court.
Goel was in charge of procurement for council assets, controlling two thirds of the council's spending, and he abused this position for personal gain, the Serious Fraud Office said today.
The SFO said he ensured contracts were awarded to companies with which he was personally connected by giving advice, sharing confidential information and helping to draft tenders.
One such relationship was with Amar Singh of ANA Group Limited, who paid Goel cash bribes in exchange for a series of asset management contracts valued at almost $500,000.
Singh was found guilty of 14 corruption and bribery charges, one charge of obtaining by deception and nine of obstructing an SFO investigation.
Other contracts Goel awarded illegally were for Wastewater Treatment Plant builds and upgrades at Franz Josef, Kumara and Whataroa.
"These were critical infrastructure projects which had implications for the health and well-being of the local community," says SFO director Karen Chang.
"By exploiting procurement processes designed to ensure public funds achieve the best outcome, Mr Goel put personal gain above the well-being of the community he was employed to serve as an official."
The SFO found Goel helped create tender documents, distributed confidential information and in one case took documents for a rival company's application to advantage those he was personally connected to.
"This was an egregious breach of the trust placed in him by his employer and the public," Chang said.
Goel and Singh are both scheduled to appear for sentencing on 22 March next year.
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