Salters Cartage Limited (SCL) and its owner Ron Salter have agreed to pay a $4 million court settlement for a first-of-its-kind case under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act (CPRA).
It follows the 2015 death of 24-year-old Jamey Bowring, who was killed in a tank explosion at Salters Cartage’s Wiri site. In 2017, SLC and Salter were convicted of six charges under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996.
The Commissioner of Police made an application for civil forfeiture under the CPRA, alleging SLC and Salter unlawfully benefited from breaches of regulations relating to the safe management and sale of hazardous substances. It’s a law most often used to confiscate assets of drug dealers, gang members and money launderers.
A seven-week trial began last month, however, parties entered into settlement discussions shortly after the Commissioner opened his case.
On October 21, the High Court in Auckland approved a settlement that saw SLC and Salter jointly forfeiting $4 million.
The settlement also sees the commissioner released from an undertaking as to damages or costs associated with taking CPRA action.
Financial Crime Group Detective Inspector Lloyd Schmid says SCL and Salter knowingly benefited from a failure to comply with fundamental requirements for handling dangerous substances.
“SCL failed to ensure the safety of its site and Salter financially benefited from those very failings.
“We’ve chosen to take a pragmatic approach here and settle the case at no further cost to police.
“This result has been a long time coming and we hope it provides some peace to Jamey’s loved ones.
“We’re aware of concerns within the business community about the application of the CPRA in these circumstances.
“Police have no intent to use the CPRA routinely for offences against the Health and Safety at Work Act.
“This case, largely brought on the basis of breaches of regulations relating to hazardous substances, had some unique features and aggravating circumstances, including the tragic death of a young man.
“Police will however consider any future cases on a case-by-case basis,” Schmid says.
In a statement, Bowring’s mother, Sarah Ferguson, says the case was “so much more than someone getting some paperwork wrong”.
“It was a case of a man and his company continually revictimising Jamey and our family by minimising his role in the events that led to my son’s death.
“I can’t thank those who have walked this journey with us enough — the police and the fantastic legal team that worked quietly and tirelessly to hold this egregious offending and behaviour to account.
“Jamey deserved to come home from work.Your loved ones deserve to come home from work. Greed cannot come before safety,” Ferguson says.
In a statement, Salter says the decision was made to “cut our losses and be in a position to move on”.
“Many would have seen the CPRA as designed to target organised crime, rather than being used against otherwise lawful businesses alleged to have committed regulatory offences under the hazardous substances and health and safety regimes.
“While SCL would have liked to have taken the Commissioner’s test case all the way, to see whether cases like this are really what the CPRA is intended for, this proceeding has already taken long enough and cost us significantly.
“SCL knows, as do the regulators, that many of the other industry players – SCL’s competitors – were also in breach, and may well remain so, yet no action was taken against them under the hazardous substances regime, let alone the CPRA.
“Prior to 2012, SCL and other waste oil processors did not believe that the hazardous substances regime applied to waste oil.
“Whether and to what extent it did was, at best, a matter of some debate from 2012 when the regulator suggested for the first time that it should, despite the wording of the legislation remaining unchanged.”
Salter says there was a belief within the industry that there was a transitional period to allow existing facilities to become compliant.
“Despite that, SCL became compliant from soon after the accident. Others in the industry were not and some are still working on it.
“SCL recognises the tragic loss of life in 2015 and its role in not preventing that. That will not be forgotten and will continue to drive us every day to remain focused to avoid any recurrence.
“But as a company trading in a competitive industry, SCL also need to be able to move on and take up new opportunities so resolving this proceeding will allow it to do that.”
