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Tamihere Fmr. Electorate Chair Charged With Fraud
Mike Tolich, the former Electorate Chairperson for John Tamihere, is one of the two people who have been charged by the SFO in relation to their Waipareira Trust investigation.
The SFO today advised that, "The evidence in relation to his[ John Tamihere's] involvement in the matters that I investigated does not support the laying of charges."
Reacting to the news in a statement Mr Tamihere, MP for Tämaki Mäkaurau, said, “I am very pleased both for myself and my family that I have been cleared of allegations which have been examined by the SFO. My family and I have gone through absolute hell for the last 5 months, but I am pleased now that my name has been restored and my whänau and I can now move on."
In his statement Mr Tamihere does not mention the charges against his former Electorate Chairperson.
The SFO director David Bradshaw said the charges the SFO has laid in the matter related to, "false invoices and to irregularities in the handling of gaming monies."
The SFO's investigation followed the referral to the SFO by Mr Tamihere of a report by private investigation firm Paragon Risk. The report, "had questioned the authenticity of eight invoices paid by the Waipareira Trust in 1998/99 at a time when Mr Tamihere was the Chief Executive," Mr Bradshaw said.
Mike Tolich does not have name suppression and will next appear in court on the 28th of April.
A second defendant in the matter has name suppression and will appear in court at some stage this Thursday.
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Alastair Thompson
Scoop Publisher
Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.
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