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Two people charged in connection with the NZ First Foundation donation scandal have won their bid to keep their names secret for now.
The couple is alleged to have fraudulently deposited more than $ 740,000 into an NZ First Foundation account.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) filed charges against the couple in September following an investigation launched by Stuff and RNZ reports on the foundation.
NZ First leader Winston Peters tried to prevent the OFS from making the charges public.
READ MORE:
* Duo charged in NZ First Foundation scandal keep identities secret, for now
* Election 2020: Urgent hearing called on suppression of names in the case of donations from NZ First Foundation
* Election 2020: Winston Peters attacks Serious Fraud Office when bid to keep charges secret fails
* Election 2020: Winston Peters threatens to take the Serious Fraud Office to court, as two indicted by NZ First Foundation
* Election 2020: Winston Peters attempted to suppress the positions of the First NZ Foundation until after the election.
On Thursday in Auckland’s Waitakere District Court, attorney Robert Stewart, acting on behalf of Stuff, RNZ and NZME, challenged the suppression orders before Judge Peter Winter.
RYAN ANDERSON / Stuff
Winston Peters tried to gag the OFS from releasing the charges.
Judge Winter released his decision on Friday, ordering the crackdown to continue due to the proximity of the elections.
Posting the name of one of the people at this time would lead to them being “unfairly vilified,” he said.
Identifying the second person involved “through an easy deduction process” would lead to the identification of the first person, Judge Winter said.
A provisional suppression order was expected to last until the two defendants appeared in North Shore District Court on October 29, after the October 17 general election and possibly after the resulting coalition negotiations concluded.
However, the media requested an urgent hearing to challenge the suppression orders.
At the hearing, Stewart argued that the couple should be named as the vote is already underway and the media is the eyes and ears of the New Zealand public.
JASON DORDAY / THINGS
Robert Stewart, acting on behalf of the media, said the couple should be named.
“Since there is an election around the corner, the public must be fully informed and the names of the people the Office of Serious Fraud has charged are an integral part of the knowledge the voter has before entering the polls.” Stewart said.
However, the lawyer for one of the accused persons said there was a moot case for continuing the crackdown until the first appearance on October 29 and he wanted a fair process, not a trial by the media.
The lawyer said that if the request were granted to the media it would be an “absolute violation of the process and an absolute violation of the Bill of Rights.”
Collection documents obtained by Stuff They allege that the couple, between September 30, 2015, and February 14, 2020, deposited a total of $ 746,881 into two separate accounts, including that of the First New Zealand Foundation.
The Serious Fraud Office alleges that the couple adopted a “fraudulent device, trick or ploy” and donations for the party were deposited into bank accounts of a company and the foundation without declaring them to the party secretary and / or the Election Commission.
The undeclared funds were then used to pay for the party’s expenses and to develop a fundraising database, the documents allege.
The couple faces a maximum of seven years in prison if convicted.
