Two men who corruptly attempted to profit from the Christchurch earthquake rebuild have been sentenced to home detention and community work.
Former Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) and Ōtākaro Limited employees Gerard Gallagher and Simon Nikoloff were sentenced at the Christchurch High Court today. The pair were found guilty on corrupt use of official information charges in March.
In the wake of the earthquake, both worked for CERA, tasked with attracting investors to the central city — connecting landlords to potential purchasers to help speed up the rebuild.
They had access to official information, which discussed how much landowners were willing to sell for, what investors would pay, and plans for the city.
Using this information, they secured a sale and purchase for their own company, then tried to start making business deals.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said that the men would "personally profit hundreds of dollars through these deals".
Gallagher worked at Ōtākaro Ltd, CERA's successor, managing a team responsible for finding buyers for surplus Crown land.
He used and disclosed "commercially sensitive information" about a developer's plans for a multimillion-dollar plot of land, attempting to broker a deal that would see him profit.
The developer withdrew when Gallagher's offending came to light, and the large plot remains empty.
Gallagher has been sentenced to one year's home detention and 200 hours of community service. Nikoloff was sentenced to seven months of home detention.
SFO director Karen Chang said the offending caused "real harm" to the city's rebuild calling their actions "particularly egregious".
"Mr Gallagher's offending contributed to missed opportunities in the city's regeneration, including a potential new retirement village on an inner city site that remains undeveloped today.
"Their offending was particularly egregious given how much Christchurch had already suffered. They exploited their roles as public servants employed to help in its recovery."
She said the key policies established after the earthquakes helped to hold the two men accountable.
"When CERA needed to get off the ground quickly following the earthquake, a number of other Government departments came together to help implement key policies.
"This included ensuring there were clear guidelines around conflicts of interest. Ultimately this helped to hold the defendants accountable for their actions by showing they knew they were acting corruptly.
"Misappropriation of targeted government funding, including emergency recovery or rebuild funding, is a focus area for the Serious Fraud Office."
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