New Zealand Legislation: Acts

98A Participation in organised criminal group

• (1) Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years who participates (whether as a member or an associate member or prospective member) in an organised criminal group, knowing that it is an organised criminal group, and—

  • (a) knowing that his or her participation contributes to the occurrence of criminal activity; or

  • (b) reckless as to whether his or her participation may contribute to the occurrence of criminal activity.

  (2) For the purposes of this Act, a group is an organised criminal group if it is a group of 3 or more people who have as their objective or one of their objectives—

  • (a) obtaining material benefits from the commission of offences that are punishable by imprisonment for a term of 4 years or more; or

  • (b) obtaining material benefits from conduct outside New Zealand that, if it occurred in New Zealand, would constitute the commission of offences that are punishable by imprisonment for a term of 4 years or more; or

  • (c) the commission of serious violent offences (within the meaning of section 312A(1)) that are punishable by imprisonment for a term of 10 years or more; or

  • (d) conduct outside New Zealand that, if it occurred in New Zealand, would constitute the commission of serious violent offences (within the meaning of section 312A(1)) that are punishable by imprisonment for a term of 10 years or more.

  (3) A group of people is capable of being an organised criminal group for the purposes of this Act whether or not—

  • (a) some of them are subordinates or employees of others; or

  • (b) only some of the people involved in it at a particular time are involved in the planning, arrangement, or execution at that time of any particular action, activity, or transaction; or

  • (c) its membership changes from time to time.

  Section 98A: substituted, on 18 June 2002, by section 5 of the Crimes Amendment Act 2002 (2002 No 20).