For Immediate Release

25 February, 2011

Court appearance in relation to Westpac theft

A 31 year old woman has appeared in the Manukau District Court this morning in relation to the theft of $6,782,000 from Westpac bank in April 2009.

Kara Hurring was met at Auckland International Airport this morning by members of the Rotorua CIB, before appearing in the Manukau District Court. She has been bailed to an Auckland address and has been remanded to reappear in the Rotorua District Court on March 10. Details of her bail address have been suppressed.

The developments this morning come after a 22 month active investigation into this high-profile case. The alleged offence occurred when a $10 million overdraft facility was mistakenly loaded into the business account of Hui (Leo) Gao. It is alleged that Gao and Ms Hurring transferred $6,782,000 of the money into other accounts, and then both left New Zealand for Hong Kong – Gao on 29 April and Ms Hurring on 3 May. The error was discovered on 5 May, with approximately half of the money recovered from New Zealand accounts, leaving an outstanding sum of $3,872,000 unrecovered.

The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Loper, says the investigation (Operation Westpac) has remained a very active investigation over the past 20 months, involving a number of New Zealand Police staff from Rotorua, around New Zealand and in China.

"There has been a significant amount of work underway behind the scenes – but for obvious reasons we haven't been in a position to discuss it."

Detective Senior Sergeant Loper says this latest development is a demonstration of that ongoing work.

"While she has returned to New Zealand voluntarily – and she should be commended for having done so – her move has been prompted by Police activity.

"Obviously this is an extremely positive development in the case, however, the investigation is by no means over. Our focus remains on eventually being able to speak to Leo Gao on this matter."

Detective Senior Sergeant Loper says the investigation has been – and will continue to be – very complex, due to the fact that it is a trans-national investigation.

"Operating across different countries adds another layer of complexity to any investigation. It has taken some time to reach this point in the investigation, and we expect it will continue to take time to achieve the next stage.

"New Zealand Police have been working with law enforcement authorities in Hong Kong and mainland China throughout, and we will continue to do so. We are appreciative of the support they have given to the investigation within the constraint of their own laws and we continue to have regular interactions as the investigation progresses.

"At the same time, we have been working with many of New Zealand's different Government agencies on the investigation and we are grateful for their support to date. We will continue to work with them in the future."

-ends-

© Scoop Media